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There has been tension in the border area for a long time.

BANGKOK. At least twelve people have been killed in armed conflict on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. The conflict escalated on Tuesday, with most of the victims being Thai civilians from three provinces, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Both sides accused each other of instigating the conflict on Thursday, and it wasn't just about the shooting. Thailand accused Cambodia of firing rockets into its territory, hitting villages, and Cambodia claimed that Thai planes were attacking its military targets, according to the British station.

Thailand closed its border with Cambodia and urged its citizens to leave the country.

The conflict that has erupted between two Southeast Asian states is another episode in a territorial dispute that has lasted for more than a century.

The current escalation is serious, tensions have been rising for more than a month, and while Time magazine noted on June 17th that it could renew old hostilities, BBC correspondent Jonathan Head says that currently no one thinks the clashes could escalate into a larger war.

However, he adds that both countries currently lack clear leaders who could control the situation.

1. What has happened between Thailand and Cambodia so far?

A gunfight broke out on the border early Wednesday morning, May 28, killing one Cambodian soldier, according to Time. Both sides blamed each other for the incident, with Cambodia claiming that the Thai army opened fire on a trench in a Cambodian military base, killing the soldier.

Thailand claimed that its troops were merely responding to Cambodian forces who had begun"using weapons" during a standoff in the disputed border territory.

The current phase of the conflict was preceded by diplomatic and political hurdles, with both sides trying to satisfy the nationalist sentiments of their citizens, the magazine writes.

While Bangkok threatened to cut off electricity and internet supplies to Cambodia, Phnom Penh banned Thai television and movies and cut off internet connections to Thailand. Subsequently, on June 17, Cambodia banned the import of Thai crops and also banned Thai employees who commute to Cambodian casinos from crossing the border.

Time adds that Cambodia's attempt at a ceasefire has further escalated the situation, as on June 16, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote that he had sent a letter to the International Criminal Court to help find a solution to the border dispute.

Thailand rejected the court's intervention and called for bilateral negotiations.

On Thursday, Cambodia also demanded a meeting of the UN Security Council.

2. What is the history of the conflict?

More than a century old, they date back to the time when the border between Thailand and Cambodia was drawn by French colonizers in the early 20th century. The conflict area is called the Emerald Triangle, and although the borders try to mimic natural obstacles, both countries dispute them.

The subject of dispute, for example, is the eleventh-century temple Preah Vihear, which is formally located in Cambodian territory in the Dangrek Mountains.

The current clashes reportedly began after Thai troops spotted a Cambodian drone over the temple, the Hindustan Times newspaper writes.

The Indian newspaper recalls that Preah Vihear is part of a complex of temples that line a strategic passage between Cambodia and Thailand. The most famous of them is Angkor Wat. The temple is claimed by Cambodia, arguing that it falls under the historic Khmer Empire, but that empire also extended into the territory of present-day Thailand, which claims the temples belong to its Surin province.

The conflict reached a dangerous stage in 2008 when Cambodia applied to UNESCO to register the temple as a world heritage site, which Thailand protested. A series of armed clashes followed that lasted until 2011.

A 1962 International Court of Justice verdict grants Cambodian claim to the temple, but Thai troops are still stationed in its vicinity.

3. What is the risk that the conflict will spread or escalate?

“We have seen clashes like this between Cambodia and Thailand, where people have died, before,” wrote the BBC’s Jonathan Head. He reports that while serious cross-border gunfire has broken out on several occasions, the situation has always calmed down relatively quickly.