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Thai-Cambodian Clash Near Ancient Temple Kills Three

05 February 2011 04:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai villager have been killed in a border clash, the latest flare-up in a dispute over territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

Cambodian and Thai troops traded gunfire near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple for two hours Friday. Military officials from the two countries blamed each other for the outbreak of hostilities, the first in the region resulting in fatalities in a year.

Cambodian officials said two of their soldiers were killed and two were injured, while Thai authorities reported the villager’s death and slight injuries to four of their troops.

Both sides have laid claim to the temple. A 1962 World Court ruling awarded it to Cambodia, which also successfully had the temple declared a World Heritage site in 2008. But the exact border near the temple has never been settled, leading to periodic skirmishes.

The dispute flared in recent days after a Cambodian court sentenced two Thai nationalists to six- and eight-year prison terms for illegal entry into Cambodia, sentences that have angered members of Thailand’s People’s Alliance for Democracy.

The party’s members, known as â€œYellow Shirts,â€ have camped out around Government House in Bangkok, demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva take a tougher stance in the border dispute.