Cambodia closes airspace amid ongoing armed conflict with Thailand

Phnom Penh: Cambodia has closed its airspace over areas currently experiencing armed conflict with Thailand. The Cambodian State Secretariat of Civ...

Phnom Penh: Cambodia has closed its airspace over areas currently experiencing armed conflict with Thailand.

The Cambodian State Secretariat of Civil Aviation Saturday instructed airlines to reroute their flights to ensure safety. Simultaneously, a minimum altitude was set for aircraft to avoid potentially dangerous routes.

Longstanding tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbors escalated sharply on Thursday, when clashes erupted along the border.

The Thai military said it had deployed fighter jets to bomb Cambodian positions. Cambodia responded with artillery fire, which hit areas including civilian infrastructure. Both sides accused each other of initiating the latest round of armed conflict.

In a related development, Thailand announced that its naval forces joined the army to repel Cambodian attacks on new areas in the disputed border zone between the two countries, while the death toll from the escalating conflict rose to at least 30.