PHNOM PENH, July 26 — The United Nations (UN) has urged Cambodia and Thailand to exercise maximum restraint after their long border disagreement erupted into a bloody battle on Thursday (July 24) morning.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency closed-door meeting on Friday (July 25) to discuss the ongoing conflict between the two neighbours.
It has yet to issue any statement on the outcome of the highly anticipated meeting.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on both warring parties to pursue peaceful dialogue to the long-running dispute, according to the UN website.
“Exercise maximum restraint and address any issues through dialogue and in a spirit of good neighbourliness, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the dispute,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote to the UNSC on Thursday, seeking the global body’s support to resolve the conflict that flared up between Cambodian and Thai soldiers along the Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear areas, after weeks of simmering tensions.
According to the website, the UNSC held an urgent private meeting under the “Threats to international peace and security” on Friday to discuss the Cambodia-Thailand border issues.
Both countries have been engaged in a decades-long hostile dispute over the sovereignty of the 817-km non-demarcated areas along their borders, which also contain several ancient temples.
At Friday’s meeting, several council members acknowledged Asean's role in facilitating a dialogue to resolve the crisis, according to the UN website.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, also the current Asean chair, presented a ceasefire proposal to both governments.
— Bernama
