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Cambodia claims more Thai soldiers crossed its border

Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country’s territory yesterday in the second day of alleged incursions amid tensions over disputed border land near a historic temple.

Thai officials have denied any incursion, saying the troops are deploying on what was clearly Thai territory to protect their country’s sovereignty.

However, a senior Thai military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said about 200 Thai troops were inside what he called “disputed border territory.”

The director of the Cambodian agency in charge of the Preah Vihear temple, Hang Soth, said the Thais continued to cross the border yesterday.

“Their troops have increased in number. They have not pulled back yet,” Hang Soth said.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said on Tuesday night that 170 troops and Thai civilians had crossed into Cambodian territory. He could not say how many civilians were among the group.

The number of Thai troops swelled to about 200 yesterday, Cambodian border guard unit commander Seng Vuthy said by telephone from Preah Vihear.

“Both the Cambodian and Thai forces have their hands on their guns at all times,” Seng Vuthy, a police colonel, said.

He said some of the 900 residents on the mountain where the temple is located had fled their homes to a safer location at the foot of the mountain.

The police officer said negotiations between military commanders of the opposing sides were continuing, but he did not elaborate.

The latest confrontation came after UNESCO declared Preah Vihear — which is at the center of a long-standing border quarrel between the neighbors — a World Heritage site last week.

Both countries claim land around the temple, and Thai anti-government activists have revived nationalist sentiment over the issue. The activists and some government officials fear the temple’s new status will jeopardize their country’s claims to land adjacent to the site.

The incident has claimed at least one casualty. A landmine explosion sheared the right leg off a Thai soldier patrolling in the area, Thai army Colonel Sirichan Ngathong said.

Major General Kanok Netakawesana, a Thai army field commander in the region, said on Tuesday that his troops were on Thai soil close to the disputed area. He declined to give the number of soldiers deployed.

“We are not violating the territory of Cambodia. We have every right to deploy troops here to protect our sovereignty,” Kanok said.
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