By Ambika Ahuja
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire on a disputed stretch of their border on Friday, a Thai military official said, the latest flare-up in an ancient feud over territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.
Shelling began at about 3 p.m. (0800 GMT) and was still going on more than an hour later, military officials and witnesses said. "There is sporadic shelling but details are very sketchy at this point," said a Thai army official.
A Thai regional commander in the area, Lieutenant General Thawatchai Samutsakorn, said no injuries had been reported.
The Southeast Asian neighbours have clashed before over the 11th century temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand. It sits on an escarpment that forms a natural border 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 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.
The clash comes three days after a Cambodian court handed down jail terms of eight and six years to two Thai nationalists who were found guilty of trespass and spying in the border region, a verdict that has angered some in Thailand.
A small but prolonged protest by Thailand's "yellow shirt" activists has put pressure on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to take a tougher line in the long-running dispute.
Adding to the tensions, the pro-establishment yellow shirts accuse their bitter foe, ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, of colluding with Cambodia to Thailand's detriment.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has also used age-old rivalry with Thailand for his own political ends.
(Reporting by Ambika Ahuja; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Alan Raybould)
5 comments:
ThaiLand is doing the right things.
As long as Cambodia has VIOLATED the 23 October 1991 peace Agreement
Thailand has the rights to do so...
If Vietnam can do Thailand and Laos can do too.
There is nothing wrong with that, due to PARIS PEACE AGREEMENT.
I say Thailand's doing the great job!
Invade as much as Thai can do....
If Viet can do same as Thai and Laos, doing their part.
Thank You Thai...
I hated Siamese and Youn but the same time I hated ah Kwack too because he's slaved to ah Youn. Actually I don't wanted Cambodian to go to wars with Siamses. If we gonna make a wars I preffer we make a wars with ah Youn Vietcong. They're the mortals enemies of Khmer for century. Siamese, Loas and Cambodian we should'nt fight each other causes we have everythings is similared likes brother and sister why we fight each others not like ah Youn they're different from us why can we joint three country to fight with ah Youn Vietcong is better.
To the Thai pilots, don’t drop bombs on innocent Cambodian people.
Please aim your targets at Hun Sen’s houses in Takhmau and Phnom Penh.
The Cambodian people will thank you for doing that.
To me who ever support foreigner to invade our motherland are traitors
Now it make me believed that Sam rainsy team are the same team as Kmher rough, All Sam rainsy Newspapers since 1998 are very disloyalty to Khmer, Kill Rainsy this Idiot are thai spy
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