Anutin pays tribute as Thai soldier death toll reaches four

The ongoing clashes along the border with Cambodia today have claimed the lives of three more Thai soldiers, raising the death toll to four.

The latest reports on the Thai-Cambodian fighting confirm that another Thai soldier has been killed.

Sergeant Jirawat Mungklang, from the 1st Engineer Battalion, King’s Guard, died after being hit by a recoilless rifle round fired by Cambodian troops from Hill 677, near the Chang A Ma pass.

Earlier in the morning, the two other soldiers killed were:

• Private Wayu Kwansue, of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, King’s Guard, who was struck by shrapnel at the 225 operational base in Surin province.
• Corporal Chawakorn Detchkhunthot, of the 11th Cavalry Battalion, 4th Cavalry Regiment, King’s Guard, based at Adisorn Camp in Saraburi, who was killed when a Cambodian drone dropped an explosive as he was moving out of a bunker at the Ban Ton Phayung base in Kantharalak district, Si Sa Ket province.

On December 8, Sergeant Satthawat Sujarit, from the 6th Cavalry Reconnaissance Company, was killed by shrapnel during fighting at the Phong Phrai base in the Chong Bok area.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today eulogized the fallen soldiers and offered his condolences to their families.

“I would like to pay my respect to the three brave heroes who have sacrificed their lives to defend Thailand’s sovereignty,” he said in a Facebook post today.

He also pledged to ensure that their families will be well taken care of.

“…Your sacrifices will not be in vain,” he said.

Prime Minister Anutin also cited a Thai poem eulogizing people who sacrifice their lives for their motherland.