Sawt Falasteen - Thailand strikes building in Cambodia's border casino hub

Thai fighter jets dropped three bombs in an area of Poipet city, a bustling casino hub popular with Thai gamblers, on Thursday morning, the Cambodian interior ministry said in a statement.

The attack damaged a warehouse and other property, leaving two civilians with minor injuries, it said.

Thai air force spokesman Jackkrit Thammavichai told reporters the strike destroyed a "logistics centre" used to store rockets.

"These are facilities that have been used for military purposes," he said.

The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 18 in Cambodia, while displacing more than 800,000, officials said.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians.

Thailand said Tuesday that between 5,000 and 6,000 Thai nationals remained stranded in Poipet after Cambodia closed its land border crossings with its neighbour.

Cambodia's interior ministry said the border closures were a "necessary measure" to reduce risks to civilians amid the ongoing combat, adding that air travel remained an option for those seeking to leave.

At least four casinos in Cambodia have been damaged by Thai strikes, the interior ministry said this week.

- China deploys special envoy -

Five days of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, and then broken within months.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly intervened in the long-standing conflict this year, claimed last week that the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.

But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed, and fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets has continued daily since a border skirmish this month sparked the latest round of conflict.

China said it was sending its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday for a "shuttle-diplomacy trip", to help bridge the gaps and "rebuild peace".

"Through its own way, China has been working actively for deescalation," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN regional bloc nations are due to meet on Monday in Malaysia for emergency talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.

"Our duty is to present the facts but more important is to press upon them that it is imperative for them to secure peace," Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told journalists late Wednesday.

"We are appealing to them to immediately stop this frontline offensive and if possible, an immediate ceasefire," Anwar said at his official residence in Putrajaya, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the talks.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement that she had spoken with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Wednesday, offering the bloc's support for ceasefire monitoring with satellite imagery.

"The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia must not be allowed to spiral further. That's why the ceasefire needs to be immediately restored," Kallas said.

burs-sco/rsc

T.Samara--SF-PST