[gtyruzzel]

Heavier artillery fire resumed today.


http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia...order-fighting

News > Asia
Renewed Thai-Cambodian border fighting

* Published: 6/02/2011 at 03:31 PM
* Online news: Asia

Fresh clashes broke out along the Thai-Cambodian border Sunday near a disputed temple, armies from both countries said, ending a ceasefire agreed after fighting left at least five people dead.

Cambodian top commanders (right) talk with Thai top commanders during a meeting near the Cambodian and Thai border at Anglong Veng district in Odar Meanchey province, some 450 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, on February 5. Both countries said they were working to defuse tensions a day after the neighbours agreed to end fierce fighting near a disputed temple that killed at least five people.

"We are fighting now, they started firing at us first," a Cambodian military commander told AFP, referring to Thai troops across the border.

Thai army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd confirmed the renewed unrest, but accused the Cambodian side of reigniting the violence by firing "fireworks" and shooting.

"Thailand has retaliated. The fighting is still going on. There are no reports of casualties," he said.

A Cambodian soldier who did not wish to be named said mortars, rockets and artillery were being used in the fighting.

The latest unrest, which erupted at around 6:35pm local time (1135 GMT), came a day after the neighbours agreed a ceasefire to end heavy fighting around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Both sides claim the land surrounding the temple, and observers say the dispute is being used as a rallying point to stir nationalist sentiment in Thailand and Cambodia.

The third heavy weapons clashes in as many days came despite reassurances from Thailand and Cambodia earlier on Sunday that they were working to defuse border tensions.

Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has faced pressure from the powerful "Yellow Shirts" at home for his handling of the issue, had said the "army and foreign ministries from both countries are working to normalise the situation".

A Cambodian military commander stationed at Preah Vihear said the Thai and Cambodian armies had held talks to improve the situation, though he cautioned the atmosphere remained "tense" and both sides were "still on alert".

Ties between the neighbours have been strained since the temple was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.

Cambodia said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed in Friday's fighting, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.

A Thai soldier was killed in a brief resumption of hostilities on Saturday morning.

The media in both countries have suggested the toll could be much higher, however, with Thai newspapers suggesting 64 Cambodian soldiers were killed. Across the border, it was reported that at least 30 Thai troops had died.

Thousands of people fled their homes as villages were evacuated on both sides of the frontier when the fighting erupted.

But Somsak Suwansujarit, the governor of the Thai border province Sri Sa Ket, said people had started to return to their houses, thinking the situation had improved.

Tensions have flared in recent weeks in the wake of the arrest of seven Thai nationals for illegal entry into Cambodia in late December.

Two of them were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for spying, in a case that has caused outrage among the nationalist "Yellow Shirts".

Around 5,000 "Yellow Shirts", a force to be reckoned with in Thailand's colour-coded politics, gathered outside the government compound in Bangkok on Saturday calling for the prime minister's resignation over the issue.

It has been suggested that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could move to mediate in the row and sources in the Cambodian foreign ministry have said Asean chair and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit the country on Monday.

But the subject of the meeting is unknown and Abhisit on Sunday dismissed Asean intervention as "unnecessary".

[gkruCRi1]

A Cambodian soldier fires a machine gun from behind sandbags at the border between Thailand and Cambodia, in this February 4, 2011 still image taken from video. Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire for a second day on Saturday in a brief clash that killed at least one Thai soldier, the latest flare-up in a long-running feud over land around an 11th-century temple, known to Cambodians as the Preah Vihear temple, and known to the Thais as KhaoPhraViharn.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers talk via their radios at the border between Thailand and Cambodia, in this February 4, 2011 still image taken from video.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers run towards a bunker at the border between Thailand and Cambodia, in this February 4, 2011 still image taken from video.

[gkruCRi1]

A Cambodian soldier holds a rocket launcher from behind sandbags at the border between Thailand and Cambodia, in this February 4, 2011 still image taken from video.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers stand on a tank near the Preah Vhear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh on February 6, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia on February 5 agreed to a ceasefire to halt fighting near the disputed temple that left at least five people dead, but border tensions remained high.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers stand guard as people flee from their village near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh along the border with Thailand on February 5, 2011.

[gkruCRi1]

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Cambodian soldiers rest at the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers look at a burned site near the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, on February 5, 2011.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodian soldiers (in green military fatigues) speak to their Thai counterparts as their commanders meet after a brief exchange of fire near the Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia February 5, 2011. Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire for a second day on Saturday in a brief clash that killed at least one Thai soldier, the latest flare-up in a long-running feud over land around an 11th-century temple, known to Cambodians as the Preah Vihear temple, and known to the Thais as Khao Phra Viharn.

[gkruCRi1]

Cambodia's military commanders (R) speak to their Thai counterparts after a brief exchange of fire near the Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia February 5, 2011

[gkruCRi1]

A Thai man is seen at a crater allegedly caused by a shell in Si Sa Ket province near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 5, 2011.

[gkruCRi1]

Members of the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) shout slogans and hold banners as they rally in Bangkok for government action regarding a long-running border dispute with Cambodia, February 5, 2011.

[nvmrfgopyy]

I'm just curious what language do the thais and cambodians converse in?

From what i know laos and thai are more similar but cambodian is pretty distinct from thai. I don't think each side would expect the other to converse in their own MT right?

[gkruCRi1]

In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, Cambodian armed vehicles stand by in Preah Vihear province, 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. Cambodia says that fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops has broken out for a fourth day, Monday, along their disputed frontier. Cambodian officials say Thai artillery has damaged the historic Preah Vihear temple, a U.N. World Heritage Site built more than 900 years ago that belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 World Court ruling disputed by many Thais.

[gkruCRi1]

A man looks at a damaged school in Si Sa Ket province near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 7, 2011

[gkruCRi1]

Thai villagers pray at a shelter in Si Sa Ket province after fleeing the area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 7, 2011.

[gkruCRi1]

Thailand's Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn speaks with Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd before a news conference at Government House in Bangkok February 7, 2011. Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight day on Monday over a disputed border area surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple as Cambodia urged the U.N. Security Council to intervene. The Thai government said that bilateral talks should be held to ease the border clashes which have killed at least five people.

[gkruCRi1]

A Buddhist monk looks at a damaged house in Si Sa Ket province near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 7, 2011

[gkruCRi1]

Soldiers look at a crater suspected to be caused by shelling, in Si Sa Ket province near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 7, 2011.