The Cambodian government accused Thailand yesterday of trying to provoke “full-scale armed hostilities” between the two neighbors after a cross-border gunfight.
Thai soldiers stationed in a disputed border area were engaged in a brief gun battle that wounded one Cambodian and two Thai troops on Friday several kilometers west of Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple.
Thai forces entered Cambodian territory and were the first to open fire, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Cambodia strongly protests against this deplorable and intentional armed provocation by Thai soldiers,” it said.
It warned that such a provocation “could lead to very grave consequences, including full-scale armed hostilities.”
Thai officials on Friday initially denied knowledge of the incident, but later said Cambodian troops had encroached on Thai territory and had been the first to fire.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said on Friday evening that the Thai troops had been patrolling in their own territory when they encountered the Cambodian soldiers.
“The Cambodian troops shot at the Thai troops first, wounding two soldiers. One Cambodian soldier was also wounded after the Thais responded,” he said.
Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Ngeepan, the regional army commander for northeastern Thailand, said that it was unclear if the Cambodians intruded intentionally or had strayed into Thailand, as “the area is dense forest.”
The Cambodian Foreign Ministry said its troops returned fire in self-defense after being attacked by Thai soldiers. The attack occurred 2km west of the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple, it said.
The pagoda is where border tension between the two neighbors erupted on July 15 after UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, approved Cambodia’s application to have the 11th century temple named a World Heritage Site.
Friday’s clash was the most serious incident yet despite statements by both governments that they were committed to preventing violence.
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