BAN NONGKANA, Thailand – Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a third straight day yesterday over their disputed border, with gunfire and explosions echoing through mountainous jungle for several hours despite a call for a ceasefire by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
The fighting near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples killed at least 10 people on Friday and Saturday.
It follows a four-day confrontation in February that claimed 11 lives, making this year’s standoff the bloodiest in nearly two decades and raising questions over what is behind it.
Cambodia’s defence ministry accused Thailand of shelling civilian villages, a day after saying Thai soldiers fired cluster munitions – anti-personnel weapons banned by many countries – along with shells “loaded with poisonous gas”.
The Thai government said the allegations were groundless.
No one was reported killed yesterday, though each side said at least one soldier was wounded. The official toll since Friday is four Thai soldiers killed and 25 wounded, with six Cambodians killed and 17 wounded.
“The situation is still under control at the moment. We can handle it,” said Thai army Lieut-Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn, adding that he believed Cambodia’s casualties outnumbered those in Thailand.
Mr Ban called for maximum restraint, “serious dialogue” and an “effective and verifiable” solution to a conflict that in February he urged the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) to help settle.
Marty Natalegawa, foreign minister of Indonesia and Asean chair, is to meet the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers today.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed on February 22nd to allow unarmed military observers from Indonesia to be posted along their border as part of a ceasefire deal.
But that arrangement has yet to be put in place.
Thailand said international observers were not required, insisting the dispute can resolved bilaterally. – (Reuters)