Nam yuen: Village defense volunteers from each village along the border in Nam Yuen District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, remain on high alert, while some villages, which government agencies have yet to reach, are awaiting assistance.
According to Thai News Agency, the 2nd Army Area Operations Center reported on the situation after officials discovered yesterday afternoon that Cambodian soldiers had cut concertina wire that the Thai side had placed to enhance security within Thai sovereignty in the Chong An Ma Market area in Nam Yuen District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. The Thai side informed the Cambodian soldiers to cease their actions and to withdraw from the area. Cambodian forces complied and immediately left the area. Officials subsequently unrolled the concertina wire and restored it to its original condition. Currently, troops are still stationed at the operational base within Thai sovereignty.
The news team surveyed the route and found that the situation on the route to Chong An Ma was normal, with some vehicles of residents traveling in and out, but not in large numbers. Villagers said they had to return because they were worried about their homes. Some said they needed to make a living, so they had to adapt to the situation. They admitted to safety concerns and were prepared if evacuation was necessary.
The survey also found that in some villages, government assistance has yet to reach them. Villagers are forced to fend for themselves, cooking rice and other meals for the Village Defense Volunteers (VDP) and providing supplies to frontline soldiers. In some villages, more people are returning to live there, as most are working in rubber plantations and are in the process of tapping rubber. Therefore, they are forced to return, lest their crops be damaged.
Villagers admitted that yesterday, upon hearing news that Cambodian soldiers were dismantling the barbed wire fence at Chong An Ma Market, they felt apprehensive and prepared to evacuate if a warning was issued, as they still remembered the evacuation incident on July 28th.
While some villages had never built bunkers before, following the Cambodian military’s removal of the barbed wire fence near the Chong An Ma market, construction of the bunkers was expedited, with the intention of completing it today in preparation for emergencies. A local MP provided cement pipes and used village funds to purchase soil to fill the bunkers. Village defense volunteers (VDP) units, responsible for overseeing the villages, assisted with the construction, mobilizing available tools and tractors. VDP members from each village have been diligently working since the clashes on July 24th.
The Ubon Ratchathani-Amnat Charoen Secondary Educational Service Area Office recently issued a second announcement to close four schools due to special circumstances stemming from the unrest on the Thai-Cambodian border, from August 6-8. The announcement will be made at four schools: Nam Yuen Witthaya School, Dom Pradit Witthaya School, Na Chaluai School, and Det Udom School. Instruction will be conducted in online, on-hand, or hybrid formats, depending on the appropriateness of the subject, to ensure that student learning is not disrupted.
Meanwhile, the Ubon Ratchathani Primary Educational Service Area Office 5, which is responsible for 90 schools, has been affected by the Ministry’s orders to suspend classes until the situation returns to normal. Some students have been transferred to safer neighboring schools.