BANGKOK: Cambodia withdrew on Wednesday from the Southeast Asian Games, a Games official said, as a border conflict with hosts Thailand escalated and forced a mass exodus of civilians from both sides of the disputed frontier.
At least 11 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides, according to officials, as renewed hostilities derailed a US-brokered truce.
Cambodia had already pulled out of eight sports at the Thailand-hosted games, with its National Olympic Committee chief Vath Chamroeun citing “safety” concerns.
But Akarin Hiranprueck, a SEA Games senior official, said Wednesday that Cambodia would no longer participate at all: “It is confirmed that Cambodia withdrew,” he told AFP.
The SEA Games run until Dec 20 in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi, with thousands of athletes from southeast Asian countries competing in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding, sailing and combat sports.
But renewed combat this week between Thailand and Cambodia over a long-standing border dispute has overshadowed the SEA Games.
There was tightened security at Tuesday’s opening ceremony at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok attended by Thai royals and featuring Thai K-pop idol BamBam. A small delegation from Cambodia took part in the athletes’ parade.
This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, in large part owing to intervention by US President Donald Trump.
Both sides blame each other for sparking the renewed clashes, which on Tuesday expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts.
More than 500,000 people have fled their homes to safety in Thailand and Cambodia since the start of a reignited border conflict, both governments said on Wednesday, surpassing the total number evacuated during similar clashes earlier this year.
The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia centres on a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during France’s colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of boundary temples.
