New Delhi, July 24 -- The conflict between neighbours Thailand and Cambodia escalated on Thursday with Cambodia firing rockets and artillery shells into Thailand and the Thai military scrambling F-16 jets to carry out air strikes.

At least nine civilians, including a child, were allegedly killed as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The fighting erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey. Both sides blamed the other for initiating the conflict.

What we know so far about Thailand-Cambodia conflict:

Thailand and Cambodia are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both co...