27 April 2011
World Socialist Web Site
Thai and Cambodian troops have exchanged artillery and small arms fire for the past five days in disputed border areas. The clashes erupted last Friday near the ancient temples of Ta Kwai and Ta Muen, about 160 kilometres west of the Preah Vihear temple, where fighting took place in early February.
According to a Thai army statement on Monday, five Thai soldiers have been killed and 35 wounded. Some 25,000 civilians have been evacuated from Surin province and 4,500 from Buri Ram. The local Thai commander claimed that Cambodian forces had fired 10 artillery rounds into the village of Ban Nong Khan Na on Sunday.
Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan reported on Monday that six of its soldiers had been killed, with 13 injured and that thousands of civilians were being evacuated from the area. Phnom Penh has accused the Thai military of using gas-filled shells and cluster munitions—a claim the Thai military denies. Phay also implied that Thailand was escalating the conflict, with Thai F-16 fighters carrying out mock attacks on Cambodian positions.
Yesterday fighting spread to the Preah Vihear temple area, where Cambodian and Thai troops exchanged artillery and automatic rifle fire. “It’s the longest fighting today, now it has been going on for more than 7 hours, and it’s still continuing,” a local Cambodian official told the Chinese newsagency Xinhua on Tuesday night. No casualty figures were available.
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