Cambodia launched attacks on Thailand on Sunday in an attempt to divert international attention from its unacceptable use of landmines on Thai soil, according to the Thai Ministry of Defence.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Monday evening, the ministry said evidence gathered by the Asean Observer Team in Thailand clearly showed that Cambodia had violated the Ottawa Convention by planting landmines across the border.

According to the Defence Ministry, the evidence was presented at the 22nd Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention in Geneva. Cambodia is a signatory to the international treaty banning anti-personnel mines.

According to the ministry, the evidence included mapped locations of newly laid mines on Thai soil, physical traces of recent mine installation, the presence of PMN-2 anti-personnel mines, and patterns consistent with Cambodian military practice. Cambodia, it said, was unable to refute the findings with evidence or reason.

The Defence Ministry said the renewed Cambodian attacks were “attempts to escape the field of facts to the field of emotion”, a tactic it claimed Cambodia often used when facing scrutiny in international forums.