Thailand warns that clashes with Cambodia could "lead to war."

Thailand's interim Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned Friday that the clashes with Cambodia, which have already killed 15 people and displaced more than 140,000, could "lead to war."

"The incidents are becoming increasingly violent and could escalate into war. For now, it's still considered a confrontation, although (Cambodia) is using heavy weapons," Phumtham told media.

The Bangkok representative claimed that Phnom Penh troops initiated the conflict on Thursday and that the Thai army had to act to "defend" sovereignty. This argument conflicts with the Cambodian position, which accuses Thailand of initiating the fighting.

The Thai military reported that Cambodia fired several rounds of rockets from its territory, hitting residential areas and a hospital, among other locations.

"Prime Minister (of Cambodia), Hun Manet, must be held accountable, as the attacks were not directed against military targets, but against civilians," Phumtham stressed, asserting that Thailand "has consistently attempted to negotiate" to calm the border conflict between the two nations.

For its part, Thailand bombed several military targets with F-16 aircraft.

"The Thai response was clear, proportionate, and exclusively against military targets," Maratee Nalita, foreign affairs spokesperson for the Thai center monitoring the situation on the border with Cambodia, said at a press conference on Friday.

In its latest update, the Thai Foreign Ministry reported 14 deaths (13 civilians and 1 soldier) and 45 injuries (30 civilians and 15 soldiers). Meanwhile, the Thai Ministry of Health estimated the number of evacuees at more than 138,000.

Cambodia, for its part, has reported only one civilian dead and five injured, according to a social media post by the deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province, Met Measpheakdey, who noted that 3,436 families have been displaced.

Thailand confirmed that clashes continued Friday in a dozen locations near the border between the two countries.

Territorial tensions between the two nations have generally been addressed diplomatically, although between 2008 and 2011, some thirty people died in military clashes between the two countries in a territory adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.