Thai-Cambodia battle spreads
Source: Agencies |
April 27, 2011, Wednesday
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THE worst fighting in years between Thailand and Cambodia spread yesterday to a third stone-walled temple, as the neighbors exchanged artillery fire in border clashes that have killed 13 soldiers and displaced 50,000 villagers.
The skirmish near the 11th century Hindu temple Preah Vihear followed unsuccessful international attempts to secure a cease-fire in the largely long-distance artillery battles that erupted last Friday at two other temples about 160 kilometers to the west.
Preah Vihear was the scene of four days of deadly fighting in February and is the most prominent symbol of a border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations that has long stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides.
Domestic politics on both sides may also be spurring the conflict, especially in Thailand, where a military that staged its latest of several coups in 2006 could be flexing its muscle ahead of elections due in June or July.
"I still don't know why they are fighting. Maybe they want the land," said Boonhome Surasuk, one of about 80 men left in the mostly abandoned Thai village of Nong Kanna, about 5 kilometers from the Cambodian border. The village normally has about 1,000 people. "All I can say is that it affects us all," he said.
Boonhome has slept in a bunker since Friday, when the latest skirmishes erupted around the ruins of the nearly 1,000-year-old Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, which are on territory claimed by both countries.
A Cambodian field commander, Colonel Suos Sothea, said there was a new round of artillery duels yesterday near Ta Moan. Each side has accused the other of starting the battles.
The skirmish near the 11th century Hindu temple Preah Vihear followed unsuccessful international attempts to secure a cease-fire in the largely long-distance artillery battles that erupted last Friday at two other temples about 160 kilometers to the west.
Preah Vihear was the scene of four days of deadly fighting in February and is the most prominent symbol of a border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations that has long stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides.
Domestic politics on both sides may also be spurring the conflict, especially in Thailand, where a military that staged its latest of several coups in 2006 could be flexing its muscle ahead of elections due in June or July.
"I still don't know why they are fighting. Maybe they want the land," said Boonhome Surasuk, one of about 80 men left in the mostly abandoned Thai village of Nong Kanna, about 5 kilometers from the Cambodian border. The village normally has about 1,000 people. "All I can say is that it affects us all," he said.
Boonhome has slept in a bunker since Friday, when the latest skirmishes erupted around the ruins of the nearly 1,000-year-old Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, which are on territory claimed by both countries.
A Cambodian field commander, Colonel Suos Sothea, said there was a new round of artillery duels yesterday near Ta Moan. Each side has accused the other of starting the battles.
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