Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Thai - Cambodian Soldiers Exchange Gunfire

Thai soldiers on a military truck drove to the front line after clashes with Cambodian troops in a disputed border area.

2 Killed On Thai-Cambodian Border -- New York Times

BANGKOK — Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged rocket and rifle fire for about an hour on Wednesday in a confrontation at their border over a disputed 900-year-old mountaintop temple, according to reports from the area. At least two Cambodian soldiers were killed, the Cambodian foreign minister said.

Several hundred soldiers from both sides have faced each other at the border since July, when Unesco, the United Nations agency, approved Cambodia’s request to have the temple named a World Heritage Site.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of Cambodia said two Cambodian soldiers had also been wounded. A spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry said seven Thai paramilitary soldiers were wounded. Ten Thai soldiers surrendered to the Cambodians, according to news reports in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The two nations have made claims for decades over the temple, Preah Vihear, which stands at the lip of an escarpment on the border looking out over the mountains of northern Cambodia.

Read more ....

More News On the Thailand/Cambodia Border

Two dead in fighting on Thai-Cambodia border -- AFP
Cambodia wages diplomatic campaign after border dispute with Thailand -- China View
Thai and Cambodia temple dispute spills over into deadly fighting -- Times Online
Shots exchanged on Thai-Cambodian border -- The Guardian
Thai-Cambodian Border Spat Heats Up -- Time Magazine
Analysis: Neighbours and bitter rivals -- The Telegraph

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