Thai soldier killed in border fighting
Source: Agencies |
February 6, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE Thai soldier was killed yesterday in renewed fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops along a disputed border before military commanders agreed on the second cease-fire in two days.
The fiercest border clashes in years sent thousands of people fleeing and damaged a landmark 11th century temple near a strip of disputed land that Thai nationalists have seized on as a domestic political issue.
There are conflicting casualty tolls, but as many as four have died in two days - one civilian each from Thailand and Cambodia, and one soldier from each nation, according to officials from the two countries. Each side blames the other for starting the fighting.
Tensions between the Southeast Asian nations have risen in recent days because of demonstrations by influential Thai nationalist groups in Bangkok demanding that the government oust Cambodians from land near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, a UN World Heritage site that belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 World Court ruling disputed by many Thais.
The demonstrators - from the same group, the People's Alliance for Democracy, that in 2008 occupied the Thai prime minister's offices and Bangkok's two airports in a bid to force out two previous governments - have said they will escalate pressure on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The rally by the PAD - also known as the Yellow Shirts - has raised tensions in a country still recovering from political violence last year in which about 90 people died.
While full-blown war is unlikely, nationalist passions are inflamed in both countries - with no clear way to settle the long-standing territorial dispute surrounding the temple, built during a time when Cambodia's Khmer empire ruled over much of Thailand.
Thai Army Spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said 2nd Region Army Commander Lieutenant General Tawatchai Samutsakhon met with Cambodian generals after yesterday's fighting to agree on a cease-fire and not to deploy more troops to the area.
The two sides also agreed Thailand would suspend construction of a road to the disputed 4.6-square-kilometer area.
The fiercest border clashes in years sent thousands of people fleeing and damaged a landmark 11th century temple near a strip of disputed land that Thai nationalists have seized on as a domestic political issue.
There are conflicting casualty tolls, but as many as four have died in two days - one civilian each from Thailand and Cambodia, and one soldier from each nation, according to officials from the two countries. Each side blames the other for starting the fighting.
Tensions between the Southeast Asian nations have risen in recent days because of demonstrations by influential Thai nationalist groups in Bangkok demanding that the government oust Cambodians from land near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, a UN World Heritage site that belongs to Cambodia under a 1962 World Court ruling disputed by many Thais.
The demonstrators - from the same group, the People's Alliance for Democracy, that in 2008 occupied the Thai prime minister's offices and Bangkok's two airports in a bid to force out two previous governments - have said they will escalate pressure on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The rally by the PAD - also known as the Yellow Shirts - has raised tensions in a country still recovering from political violence last year in which about 90 people died.
While full-blown war is unlikely, nationalist passions are inflamed in both countries - with no clear way to settle the long-standing territorial dispute surrounding the temple, built during a time when Cambodia's Khmer empire ruled over much of Thailand.
Thai Army Spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said 2nd Region Army Commander Lieutenant General Tawatchai Samutsakhon met with Cambodian generals after yesterday's fighting to agree on a cease-fire and not to deploy more troops to the area.
The two sides also agreed Thailand would suspend construction of a road to the disputed 4.6-square-kilometer area.
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