Thai and Cambodian soldiers clash again in border dispute
Fighting resumes between Thailand and Cambodia over disputed Preah Vihear boundary
Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire on a disputed stretch of their border today, witnesses said, the third flare-up in three days in an ancient feud over territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.
The latest fighting occurred despite Thailand's announcement of a ceasefire yesterday after clashes in the area that killed at least five people.
A witness said about 20 rounds went off in the vicinity of a 4.6 sq km contested area around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, a jungle-clad escarpment overlooking northern Cambodia and claimed by both countries.
"We are receiving reports of fresh shooting right now. But there is no report of casualties," said a Thai army spokesman, Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Although sporadic clashes in the area are not unusual, it is rare for the two sides to fight over consecutive days.
Washington has called on the countries to show restraint.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), a regional forum that includes Thailand and Cambodia, said the deteriorating situation was undermining confidence in the region and would affect its economic recovery.
Thai and Cambodian troops fought with rocket-propelled grenades and guns for about 25 minutes yesterday in a clash that killed one Thai soldier, before reaching a truce in the early afternoon and agreeing not to reinforce troops.
That followed an intense two-hour battle in which three Cambodians, including two soldiers, and a Thai villager were killed on Friday, the first fatalities in the militarised border area since a Thai soldier was shot dead in January last year.
The fighting, the latest episode in tension between the neighbours, has inflamed passions among Thai "yellow shirt" protesters who are demanding prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva takes a tougher line against Cambodia.
Up to 4,000 yellow shirt protesters gathered outside Government House yesterday, criticising Abhisit's government for its handling of the dispute and calling for his resignation.
The Thai foreign ministry has accused Cambodia of engaging in "an act of aggression in violation of Thai sovereignty and territorial integrity". Cambodia has accused Thailand of invasion and filed a complaint with the UN security council.
The temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, sits on land that forms a natural border.
The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962 but the ruling did not determine the ownership of the scrub next to the ruins, leaving scope for disagreement.
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