PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodian troops said Friday a brief gunfight broke out with Thai soldiers at their tense border near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the site of increasingly regular conflicts between the neighbors.
Cambodian troops fired on some 60 Thai soldiers after they entered Cambodian territory, sparking a gun battle that lasted about 10 minutes, said Yim Kheang, a Cambodian soldier at the border. He said no Cambodian soldiers were wounded.
«We are on alert, and we are ready for fighting at any time,» he told The Associated Press. «If Thai soldiers come here, Cambodian soldiers will open fire without warning.
Thai military officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The two sides regularly dispute each others' claims.
On Thursday, a Thai soldier in the area lost his leg after stepping on a land mine, but Thai and Cambodian military officials disagreed over which country he was in at the time.
The cliff-top Preah Vihear temple, near the countries' ill-defined border, has been a source of conflict for decades.
Troops from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, and two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.
Cambodia and Thailand share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.
Cambodian troops fired on some 60 Thai soldiers after they entered Cambodian territory, sparking a gun battle that lasted about 10 minutes, said Yim Kheang, a Cambodian soldier at the border. He said no Cambodian soldiers were wounded.
«We are on alert, and we are ready for fighting at any time,» he told The Associated Press. «If Thai soldiers come here, Cambodian soldiers will open fire without warning.
Thai military officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The two sides regularly dispute each others' claims.
On Thursday, a Thai soldier in the area lost his leg after stepping on a land mine, but Thai and Cambodian military officials disagreed over which country he was in at the time.
The cliff-top Preah Vihear temple, near the countries' ill-defined border, has been a source of conflict for decades.
Troops from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, and two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.
Cambodia and Thailand share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.
3 comments:
There must have been some casualties on Thai side, then.
The evil CPP & Hun Sen are just using the Preah Vihear Temple issue (like they did in the last election) to distract Khmer people from other real important internal issues in Cambodia, such as the upcoming commune election, boarder marking with Vietnam, anti-corruption law, etc.
It's all a setup between the CPP and the Thai military. We (Khmer People - in Cambodia and living overseas) are the "Suckers"
For one thing, we must stop supporting the CPP propaganda machine - CTN television. They are slowly washing our brains.
Hun Sen said, if the ECCC indict him and his Khmer Rouge gangs, he will turn Cambodia into a Killing Field again.
Hun Sen threaten a Khmer Rouge war again.
Hun Sen threaten to massacre thousands of innocent Khmer peoples again.
We gotta take Hun Sen's threat seriously.
I am asking the United Nation to come to Cambodia immediately to stop Hun Sen from turning Cambodia into a Killing Field.
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