PM Anutin seeks ways to bring Thais stranded in Cambodia home safely
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government was prepared to mobilise resources to bring Thais back, stressing speed, coordination and public safety.
- The Thai government is committed to providing full support to assist its nationals stranded in Cambodia.
- The primary goal is to facilitate the safe movement and protection of Thai citizens, with assistance operations able to proceed without delay.
- The government is considering chartering commercial flights to bring Thais home if it is deemed a convenient and safe option.
- Several thousand Thais are reportedly stranded, and the government intends to accelerate assistance efforts to the fullest extent.
Anutin said on Monday (December 15) that Thailand remained firmly committed to defending its sovereignty and did not need to issue further explanations to the international community, arguing that the facts were already clear.
Speaking at Bhumjaithai Party headquarters, Anutin was responding to a statement from the United Nations in Geneva urging the conflicting parties to halt fighting and stressing that civilians should not be treated as military targets.
He said there was verifiable evidence, including photographs and data, indicating that Cambodia had initiated the violence by firing BM-21 rockets into Thai territory in repeated and sustained barrages, rather than as an accidental incident.
Thailand, he insisted, had not been the side to start the escalation.
Earlier the same morning, Anutin also addressed measures to assist Thai nationals stranded in Cambodia.
He said the government was ready to provide full support on all fronts.
While no formal discussions had yet taken place with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said assistance operations could proceed as normal without needing prior approval from the prime minister, with the priority being to facilitate safe movement and protection for Thai citizens.
Asked whether the government might charter commercial flights to bring Thais home, Anutin said that if such an approach would improve convenience and safety, the government was prepared to move forward.
He said he had been informed that several thousand Thais remained stranded in Cambodia and that assistance would be accelerated to the fullest extent possible.
