Fighting erupts again at Thai-Cambodian flashpoint

They accuse each other of provoking gunbattle at border near temple

4 April 2009, ST








Thai soldiers standing guard in the disputed border area with Cambodia near the Preah Vihear temple. As many as four soldiers were killed in a gunbattle yesterday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

HNOM PENH: Cambodian and Thai troops fought heavy gunbattles on their disputed border yesterday, leaving as many as four soldiers dead just days before a key regional summit.
Soldiers traded rocket, machine gun and mortar fire near an 11th century Khmer temple following a brief exchange of shots earlier in the day, officials from both sides said.

There were reports of two Cambodians killed, but Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the deaths had not been confirmed.

Two Thai soldiers were killed and six wounded in the fighting, the deputy commander of Thailand's Second Army, Lieutenant-General Thawatchai Samutsakorn, told Thai television.
The fighting is the latest flare-up near the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple, which is on the Cambodian side of an ill-defined border that has been a source of conflict for decades. Two clashes last year sparked brief concerns of war.
The latest exchange came just days before Asean leaders are to meet in Thailand from April 10 to 12. Yesterday, however, Cambodian Premier Hun Sen stressed at a Cabinet meeting that he would attend the Asean 10+3 meetings.

A tense stand-off at the border last year had dogged an Asean meet in Singapore last August, putting regional solidarity to the test. In the end, neither the United Nations nor Asean played a direct role in negotiations to defuse the danger.

Both sides blamed each other for starting yesterday's gunbattle. The first exchange of shots took place at about 7am, with heavy gunfire breaking out at 2pm.
Cambodia's military said its soldiers fired on 60 Thai soldiers after they entered Cambodian territory.

Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and has been a source of tension for generations. The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the ruling did not determine the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.

A joint border committee set up to demarcate the jungle-clad border area after last year's clashes, which killed one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers, will meet again on Sunday for three days of talks.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) expressed concern and called for the two sides to resolve their differences through negotiations. 'We urge both parties to exercise utmost restraint in the broader interests of the region,' an MFA spokesman said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

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