CAMBODIA (Reuters) - Cambodia's prime minister Hun Manet said on Friday that he had supported a proposal by the Malaysian premier for a ceasefire with Thailand, which later withdrew its initial backing of the plan.
The two Southeast Asian neighbours are currently locked in their heaviest fighting in over a decade, which Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim - also the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN - is seeking to resolve.
"The key to resolving the current armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is the genuine willingness of the Thai side to accept a ceasefire," the Cambodian premier said in a Facebook post.
Earlier, Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, despite calls from the region and beyond for an immediate ceasefire in an escalating border conflict that has killed at least 16 people.
Thailand's military reported clashes from before dawn in the Ubon Ratchathani and Surin provinces and said Cambodia had used artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket systems. Authorities said 100,000 people had been evacuated from conflict areas on the Thai side.
"Cambodian forces have conducted sustained bombardment utilising heavy weapons, field artillery and BM-21 rocket systems," the Thai military said in a statement.
"Thai forces have responded with appropriate supporting fire in accordance with the tactical situation."
Both sides blamed each other for starting the conflict on Thursday at a disputed border area, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six locations 209 km (130 miles) apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century.