Cambodian, Thai battlefield commanders agree ceasefire again

PHNOM PENH, April 29 (Xinhua) — Cambodian and Thai battlefield commanders on Friday agreed to a ceasefire again after the earlier ceasefire was broken, according to the statement of Cambodian Ministry of Defense. The statement said that Neak Vong, deputy commander of Cambodian brigade 42 at Ta Moan temple, and Dul Yadeth, field commander of Thai border regiment, held talks at O’smach border checkpoint at Friday noon after the eighth day of armed clashes at early Friday morning.

“Both sides agreed again to three points: ceasefire, no troop mobility and talk every two days by phone or face-to-face,” it said. “This is the eighth time that both sides agreed to the ceasefire, but always failed to comply with it.”

Cambodian and Thai troops had exchanged gunfire for eight straight days from April 22 to 29 over disputed border areas at the 13th century Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples, which lie 150 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple.

The fighting had killed eight Cambodian soldiers, seven Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian, and caused several dozens injured.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.