Fighting escalates on Thai-Kampuchean border

April 5, 1983

Fighting on the Thai-Kampuchean border escalated dramatically. A Thai plane bombed Vietnamese troops inside Thailand - believed to be the first time Thailand had acted from the air to counter incursions by Vietnamese. Vietnam is battling Kampuchean rebels along that border. Thai military sources said a fighter-bomber struck against Vietnamese dug in on Phnom Pra.

Vietnamese troops have been captured in Thailand. A Thai politician said they carried gas masks and could be using gas in the fighting - a charge often leveled by the US. In other action, the Vietnamese overran the Kampuchean base of rebel leader Prince Norodom Sihanouk.