Sopheng Cheang
Associated Press
Cambodian troops clashed Sunday with Thai soldiers near a temple that lies along a disputed part of their border and has been the scene of several deadly skirmishes in recent years, Cambodian military officials said.
Lt. Gen. Chea Tara, deputy armed forces commander and field commander for the area, said Cambodia suffered no casualties in the fighting in northern Cambodia, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of Preah Vihear temple. He said the fighting began when Thai troops intruded into Cambodian territory.
Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat said there were two firefights lasting about five minutes each. He could not say if Thai forces suffered any casualties.
Thai military authorities could not immediately be reached for confirmation of the fighting in an area.
The Cambodian officers said the area was calm after the fighting, but that both countries were on alert.
The area has been a flashpoint since 2008, when Thai nationalists protested Cambodian efforts to have the 11th century Preah Vihear temple named a U.N. World Heritage site. They claimed the move could invalidate Thai claims to small parcels of nearby jungle area.
In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple and the land it is on to Cambodia, but sovereignty over adjacent areas has never been clearly resolved.
The issue is closely linked to Thailand's domestic politics because the 2008 protests about the temple were led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group which was seeking to unseat the Thai government then in power because of its links to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespecting constitutional monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The alliance raised the issue to stir up nationalist sentiment and attract support.
The furor caused both Thailand and Cambodia to reinforce their military positions in the area, and tensions have broken out into fighting on several occasions, leading to several deaths.
Relations between the two countries plunged further in November last year, when Cambodia named Thaksin an adviser on economic affairs. The appointment, and subsequent visits by Thaksin, set off a diplomatic row in which the two countries recalled their ambassadors. A Thai court in 2008 sentenced Thaksin in absentia to two years in prison on a corruption charge.
Cambodia has refused to extradite Thaksin.
Lt. Gen. Chea Tara, deputy armed forces commander and field commander for the area, said Cambodia suffered no casualties in the fighting in northern Cambodia, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of Preah Vihear temple. He said the fighting began when Thai troops intruded into Cambodian territory.
Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat said there were two firefights lasting about five minutes each. He could not say if Thai forces suffered any casualties.
Thai military authorities could not immediately be reached for confirmation of the fighting in an area.
The Cambodian officers said the area was calm after the fighting, but that both countries were on alert.
The area has been a flashpoint since 2008, when Thai nationalists protested Cambodian efforts to have the 11th century Preah Vihear temple named a U.N. World Heritage site. They claimed the move could invalidate Thai claims to small parcels of nearby jungle area.
In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple and the land it is on to Cambodia, but sovereignty over adjacent areas has never been clearly resolved.
The issue is closely linked to Thailand's domestic politics because the 2008 protests about the temple were led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group which was seeking to unseat the Thai government then in power because of its links to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespecting constitutional monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The alliance raised the issue to stir up nationalist sentiment and attract support.
The furor caused both Thailand and Cambodia to reinforce their military positions in the area, and tensions have broken out into fighting on several occasions, leading to several deaths.
Relations between the two countries plunged further in November last year, when Cambodia named Thaksin an adviser on economic affairs. The appointment, and subsequent visits by Thaksin, set off a diplomatic row in which the two countries recalled their ambassadors. A Thai court in 2008 sentenced Thaksin in absentia to two years in prison on a corruption charge.
Cambodia has refused to extradite Thaksin.
9 comments:
Dear our Khmer heroes please be on high alert from now on.
I wish you all Khmer army good luck , healthy and Buddha bless you all.
Don't truth the Siam bastard when they talk very nice to you but they really want to kill you.
Thai are learning the tricks from Hanoi.
To khmer heros:
Please kill all Thai troops that crossed the demarcation line. We know that Ah Hun Sen is a Big chicken. He is scared of thai and viet troops. We just ignore that stupid Hun Sen.
Why Khmer soldier shoot a warning? just shoot straight at them with all those RPG7, you think Thais will do that toward us...?
I think Chea Dara is scared fo Thai army...he's just running his big mouth that's all..!
Chea Dara is fucken soft and chicken shit mother fucker..!
Chea Dara General lom or tikrong.
Reported from frontline said, Thais soldier death and wounded, atleat two death of Thais bastard plus wounded...
Yep, "MEAS YOEUN" the former khmer rouge commander said, his soldiers fire atleast 10 B40 rockets...it's possible Thais bastard suffer some...?
Damn, what happen to sniper team? employ some of them with the unit so they can kill those thai rangers that are patrolling inside Cambodian territory. Fire some decoys to lure them in then you take them out one by one.
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