Thai Burapha Task Force to reclaim disputed border area in Sa Kaeo

The First Army Region reported today that it has instructed the Burapha Task Force, which is responsible for overseeing border security in Thailand’s eastern region, to seize control of a disputed areas in Sa Kaeo province.

The army claims that the preemptive military action is necessary after Cambodia amassed troops and weapons close to the border with Thailand, in a way which poses a direct threat to Thai sovereignty and to the safety of people living in the area, in violation of signed agreements between Thailand and Cambodia.

The army region did not disclose precise details of the area to be reclaimed by the task force. In the past several months, however, Thai troops have been trying to evict Cambodian settlers who are encroaching on two Thai border villages, Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Khok Sung district of Sa Kaeo.

Thailand claims that the two villages are on Thai soil and were used to shelter tens of thousands of Cambodians fleeing their civil war more than four decades ago. After the war, many of the settlers have refused to move back into Cambodia.