Thai, Cambodia Troops Clash Again; Peace Hopes Fade

Cambodian soldiers gesture as they ride a truck in Oddar Meanchey province

25 Apr 2011
REUTERS

Thai and Cambodian troops clashed with guns and artillery on Monday after almost a full-day break in fighting that has killed at least 12 people in four days and sent nearly 50,000 into evacuation centres, reports Reuters.

Gunfire and explosions were heard near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples, the scene of sporadic mortar and artillery bombardments since Friday in the bloodiest border conflict between the neighbours in nearly two decades.

The fresh fighting erupted before sundown on Monday and witnesses said the clashes were more fierce than the previous days, with the sound mortars heard as far as 40 km (25 miles) away.

Thailand's Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya reiterated calls for a bilateral solution following the cancellation of a visit to both countries by a top Southeast Asian envoy who had brokered a U.N.-backed peace cease-fire deal on February 22.

But soon after the fighting resumed, Kasit accused Cambodia of being the "aggressor" in the conflict and said it was limiting scope for dialogue.

"It's clear Cambodia was pushing into the (disputed) area and its now beyond talks as friendly neighbours," he told reporters in Bangkok on his return from a visit to an evacuee camp near the border.

He had earlier rejected Cambodian claims that Thailand had reneged on an agreement to allow unarmed Indonesian military observers after border battles that killed 11 troops near Preah Vihear, a temple about 150 km (90 miles) to the east.

At the centre of the latest dispute are the Ta Moan and Ta Krabey Hindu temples in a heavily mined jungle area claimed by both sides. Thailand says the ancient ruins are in its Surin province but Cambodia insists they fall in its territory.

Fighting has been heaviest around Ta Moan, a complex that contains three temples nestled into a mountain pass. Both sides are also positioned around Ta Krabey, where fighting first erupted on Friday and where Cambodia has been accused of building military bases.

The official toll since Friday is five Thai soldiers killed and 31 wounded, and seven Cambodians killed and 17 wounded. No casualties were reported from Monday's fighting.

Monday's clashes continued late into the evening and came four hours after Thai F-16 fighter jets circled near the two temples in what Thai air force commander, Air Chief Marshall Itthaporn Subhawong, said was a training exercise.

"There was no intention to provoke," he told Reuters.

The Cambodian Defence Ministry had earlier said Thai shelling had "damaged the temples," without elaborating, and that civilian villages had been shelled about 20 km (12 miles) inside Cambodian territory. About 17,000 people had been evacuated, it said, and a school and 10 houses destroyed.

Cambodian government spokesman, Phay Siphan said "some Thai nationals" were taken into custody for "spying." He did not provide details.

Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Thailand and Cambodia are members, had been expected to visit Thailand and Cambodia separately on Monday.

Although his trip was cancelled, Natalegawa told reporters in Jakarta a trilateral meeting could still take place.