CNY Border War Started Thai Cambodia Artillery fired 3 killed

[taksinloong]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/One-Thai-villager-killed-by-Cambodian-artillery-30147973.html

One Thai villager killed by Cambodian artillery

Si Sa Ket - A Thai villager was killed when an artillery shell fell on his village Friday evening.
The shell from Cambodian side fell at his Phumsalon Village in Kanthalalak district at 6 pm, destroying five houses.
The Nation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/thailand-cambodia-border-clash

Three killed in Thailand-Cambodia border clash

Fears battle over disputed land around Preah Vihear temple could reignite tension between south-east Asian neighbours
A Thai soldier stands guard near the Preah Vihear temple, the focus of a 900-year-old feud between Thailand and Cambodia. Photograph: Sukree Sukplang/Reuters

Two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai villager were killed in a two-hour border clash today, the latest in an ancient feud over land surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

The fatalities were the first in the militarised area since a Thai soldier was shot dead a year ago and could rekindle diplomatic tensions between the south-east Asian neighbours over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

The Cambodian foreign minister, Hor Namhong, said Phnom Penh would file a complaint with the UN security council, accusing Thailand of invading his country's territory.

Both sides have accused each other of firing first in the 4.6sq km (1,137-acres) disputed area around Preah Vihear, a jungle-clad escarpment claimed by both countries, where deadly, sporadic clashes have taken place in recent years.

Several Thai soldiers were also wounded and four Thai villages were evacuated, Thai media reported. Five Thai soldiers were captured, said an army spokesman, Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

"It seems to have been a result of a misunderstanding," the Thai army chief, Prayuth Chan-ocha, told reporters. "There is no point in fighting because it could escalate and damage relations ... We don't want that."

Phnom Penh has accused the Thai army of targeting Cambodian villagers and said the fighting erupted when Thai soldiers illegally entered Cambodian territory.

"We said to them, 'Don't come in the area,' and they still came. We fired into the air and they began to shoot at us," said a Cambodian government spokesman, Khieu Kanharith.

The clash comes three days after a Cambodian court handed down jail terms of six and eight years to two Thai nationals found guilty of trespassing and spying in the border region, a verdict that has angered some in Thailand.

Shelling began at about 3pm local time and continued into early evening. Artillery shells landed on several villages on the Thai side, setting at least four houses on fire, witnesses said.

A Thai police colonel, Chatchawan Kaewchandee, said at least one villager had been killed during the shelling. "We found one body of a male villager and there might be more," he said.

The temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, sits on land that forms a natural border and has been a source of tension for generations. The international court of justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962 but the ruling did not determine the ownership of the scrub next to the ruins, leaving scope for disagreement.

 

[halsey02]

What do they have around that land that they two countries are disputing over, surely an ancient temple be that important?, oil, minerals, tin, gold or?? something must be very valuable under those ancient ruins or around...???

 

[Slim_10_Sg]

What do they have around that land that they two countries are disputing over, surely an ancient temple be that important?, oil, minerals, tin, gold or?? something must be very valuable under those ancient ruins or around...???

The news said that they had 900 years of blood feud. So the border issue is only the chip on the table which they used as excuse to settle 900 years of feud.

 

[HongKanSeng]

Heng Ah!

Never started on Singapore border.

You know the Japs invaded Singapore during CNY and killed and raped us like shit?



http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/219886/thai-cambodian-clash-on-border

Fighting on Cambodian border

* Published: 4/02/2011 at 04:53 PM
* Online news:

Two or three Thai soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire with Cambodian troops on Friday afternoon on the Thai-Cambodian border, and artillery rounds landed on Thai soil well inside the frontier, an informed military source said.

Graphic from TNN24

The clash started about 3.20pm near the disputed 4.6 square kilometre area around the Preah Vihear temple.

Fighting was continuing, the source said. Heavy weapon rounds had landed on the Thai side of the border.

Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, 2nd Army commander, said it was Cambodian troops who started the shooting.

Many artillery shells landed at Huay Thip village in tambon Rung of Si Sa Ket's Kanthararak district, north of the Preah Vihear temple and about 1km from Phu Makhua mountain, which is part of the disputed area.

Two or three Thai soldiers were reported wounded.

TNN TV news carried a live report from a villager in the area, who said at 50 year old man had been killed and others hurt by artillery shells which land in his village, well inside Thai territory.

Casualties on the Cambodian side were not known.

From Phnom Penh, AFP reported:
Thai and Cambodian soldiers have clashed near a disputed temple on the two countries' shared border, officials from both nations told AFP, amid increasing tensions between them.

"A clash is ongoing", said Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith without elaborating.

A Cambodian soldier stationed near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, which is claimed by both sides, told AFP by telephone fighting had broken out. Gunfire could be heard in the background.

Reports said artillery was being used, but it was not clear by which side, or whether both were doing so.

A Thai army official at the border also confirmed the skirmish, which follows reports of a military buildup on both sides of the border in recent days.

He said fighting broke out at 3.10pm local time (0810 GMT) at Phu Makuea, near the 11th-century temple.

"The fighting is still going on," the official said. "We don't have any details or casualties yet."

Residents in nine villages along the Thai side of the frontier have been asked to take shelter or leave the area, said a senior district official at Kantharalak in the border province of Si Sa Ket.

"I can still hear artillery shelling but don't know from which side," he said.

The border clash occurred not long after Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said in Siem Riep on Friday morning that Thailand and Cambodia have reached agreement not to blow up the dispute over the national flags put up in their disputed border area near Pheah Vihear temple.

The announcement followed talks between Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on the sidelines of Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission (JC) meeting on Friday.

Mr Kasit said afterwards they have agreed not to blow up the dispute over the flags and not to incite their people into hatred for each other.

In addition, the two countries would continue efforts to ease border tension by continuing demarcation negotiations through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

Thailand earlier demanded that Cambodia remove both the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda and the Cambodian flag flying over the pagoda gate, while reasserting that the pagoda is on Thai territory. Thai troops also erected the Thai national flag in the disputed area in response.

Mr Kasit said he would visit the two yellow-shirt Thai activists, Veera Somkwankid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who were sentenced by a Cambodian court to eight and six years in jail repectively for espionage, and discuss with them what further help can be provided by the government.

In a related development, the legal team of the Thai Patriots Network (TPN) will meet on Tuesday to discuss ways of helping Mr Veera and Ms Ratree then file an appeal on Feb 11 against the court verdict.

Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a TPN core member, said both Mr Veera and Ms Ratree were both insistent that they were not arrested on Cambodian soil, but the Foreign Ministry wanted them to accept the court's ruling that they were guilty as charged.

Karun Saingam, who is a member of the legal team, said the appeal would be submitted to the court on Feb 11 along with a bail request.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should begin talks with the government to promote understanding, instead of only mounting attacks, concerning the Cambodian issues.

Mr Abhisit said if the government and the PAD could exchange opinions and help to each other, he believed it would be much easier to settle the ongoing disputes with Cambodia.

The prime minister said while the PAD was putting pressure on the government, Cambodia had sent a letter to the World Heritage Committee asking it not to allow Thailand host a World Heritage Committee meeting, because people in Thailand had called for the government to withdraw from the World Heritage Committee.

"If we join forces, it would be easier to for us to deal with Cambodia," Mr Abhisit said.

"Cambodia has taken the opportunity given by our internal discord to tell the World Heritage Committee that Thailand should not be allowed to host next year's meeting of the committee, reasoning that the Thai people want the government to withdraw from it.

"An abrupt withdrawal from the committee would not be good for our efforts to protect our interests," Mr Abhisit said.

The prime minister insisted it is necessary for the government to continue its membership of the World Heritage Committee. Thailand should not admit defeat or make an abrupt withdrawal from the committee, he added.

Mr Abhisit said the government's attempts to reach an understanding with the PAD were going in a favourable direction, but declined not to go in details.

On the PAD's planned rally on Saturday, the prime minister said everyone should bear in mind that if the situation developed in an unfavourable way it would not be good for the country.

He reaffirmed that the PAD protesters would not be allow to intrude into the Government House compound.

Pol Maj-Gen Wichai Sangprapai, commander of the Metropolian Police Division 1, said 17 companies of police will be assigned to control Saturday's planned mass rally by the PAD.

More checkpoints will be set up along routes leading to the protest site on Ratchadamnoen Nok avenue.

He had talked with PAD leaders, who said the protesters would not leave to site and move to somewhere else on Saturday.

 

[spotter542]

Previously it was the troubled South now the Northern side also got problems.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will have his hands full.

 

[Froggy]

Alamak, tomorrow I go back to Bangkok after 5 days in Singapore for CNY. Wonder safe or not. I think Abishit is shitting in his pants not with Red Shirts ; Yellow Shirts ; Thai Army ; and now Cambodians all screwing his arse at the same time.

 

[Ramseth]

Alamak, tomorrow I go back to Bangkok after 5 days in Singapore for CNY. Wonder safe or not. I think Abishit is shitting in his pants not with Red Shirts ; Yellow Shirts ; Thai Army ; and now Cambodians all screwing his arse at the same time.

Don't worry too much about border affairs. Thai soldiers are wayang experts. They'll find a way to settle with face before any real wars. The real worry is about internal red v. yellow fight again.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Alamak, tomorrow I go back to Bangkok after 5 days in Singapore for CNY. Wonder safe or not. I think Abishit is shitting in his pants not with Red Shirts ; Yellow Shirts ; Thai Army ; and now Cambodians all screwing his arse at the same time.

I tot the cambodian border is so far away from bkk? What does that border skirmish have to do with bkk?

 

[Ramseth]

I tot the cambodian border is so far away from bkk? What does that border skirmish have to do with bkk?

The distance from Bangkok to Cambodia border is about Singapore to Malacca only.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

The distance from Bangkok to Cambodia border is about Singapore to Malacca only.

well if the war actually takes place in bkk then it's a full scale war. I doubt cambodia has the means to take on thailand on that large a scale.

 

[GoldenDragon]

Alamak, tomorrow I go back to Bangkok after 5 days in Singapore for CNY. Wonder safe or not. I think Abishit is shitting in his pants not with Red Shirts ; Yellow Shirts ; Thai Army ; and now Cambodians all screwing his arse at the same time.

Hun Sen and Thaksin are buddies. This would not have taken place had Thaksin remain as PM. They are brudders.

 

[Froggy]

well if the war actually takes place in bkk then it's a full scale war. I doubt cambodia has the means to take on thailand on that large a scale.

I am sure this will be settled in no time. Abhishit is a looser, he will yield somehow. Also I think Hun Sen has no intention fo full scale war, he is just wanting to take advantage of the situation in Thailand to embarrass Abhishit. I am sure at this time in modern history no one except US will think of war with anyone.

 

[postnew]

Sunrise at the ancient Hindu temple in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh, in this July 6, 2009 file photo.​

 

[postnew]

General view of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, a world heritage site, during sunrise in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh in this March 13, 2009 file photo.​

 

[postnew]

Thai villagers find shelter in Si Sa Ket after fleeing the area near a 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 4, 2011. Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire in a two-hour border clash on Friday that killed two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai villager, the latest in an ancient feud over land surrounding the 900-year-old Hindu temple.​

 

[LauMeng]

ASEAN's members at war!

 

[taksinloong]

WAR AGAIN TODAY!

5 Thai soldiers killed 4 captured by Cambodia but released later.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/219952/two-die-in-cambodia-clash

Two die in Cambodia clash
Five Thais detained in two-hour border battle

* Published: 5/02/2011 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

An uneasy ceasefire was holding at the border with Cambodia after fierce fighting left two dead and resulted in the capture of five Thai rangers.

Houses at Ban Phum Saron in Si Sa Ket’s Kantaralak district burnt down when artillery landed in the village on the Thai-Cambodian border yesterday.

The two-hour clash between Thai and Cambodian troops near Phu Ma Khua area of Si Sa Ket yesterday killed at least two people - one Thai villager and one Cambodian soldier - and left several people injured.

Troops in nearby border provinces were placed on high alert as the capture of the five Thai rangers raised fears that the conflict could widen.

The five soldiers, who were based near Cambodia's Keo Sikha Kiri Savara pagoda, were detained by Cambodian troops.

The fighting included artillery exchanges and small arms fire, and partially destroyed communities on Thai soil.

The cross-border flare-up erupted about 3.15pm, a few hours after Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong met in Siem Reap and pledged to avoid violence in resolving border disputes.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith claimed the fighting erupted when Thai troops ignored warnings to stop crossing into its territory.

He said the Cambodians shot into the air and the Thai soldiers returned fire.

But Thailand disputed that account.

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the clash was triggered by artillery rounds from the Cambodian side that fell on Thai territory.

"Cambodia didn't stop and started firing. We had to return fire," said Col Sansern shortly before the ceasefire.

Cambodia's artillery shells landed at Ban Non Chaeng and Ban Phum Saron villages, setting fire to four houses.

Charoen Pahom, a resident of Ban Phum Saron, was killed by artillery shells. Thai troops responded with heavy fire.

In Cambodia, privately owned Bayon TV reported that one Cambodian soldier was killed and five were wounded.

Shelling also damaged the roof of Ban Phum Saron school and the office of the tambon Sao Thong Chai administrative organisation. It also set part of the Keo Sikha Kiri Savara pagoda on fire.

Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha said last night the shelling had now ceased and both sides are maintaining their positions.

Second Army Commander Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon, who is in charge of the border area, said: 'I don't want to say who started it because it will only prolong the issue. Let's say we both are doing what we're supposed to do."

Gen Prayuth said the fresh violence is likely to affect the World Heritage Committee's meeting called for June to discuss the development plan for the Preah Vihear temple, which is close to where the clash occurred.

Foreign Minister Kasit said the ministry will send a letter to Unesco and its member countries today calling on them to suspend any work involving the Thai-Cambodian border because any actions could intensify the conflict.

Mr Kasit said he held talks with senior Cambodian authorities after the clashes broke out, and both sides agreed to stop fighting.

'Both sides have agreed that we will try our best to avoid creating problems, but when a problem occurs, we have to end it as soon as possible," he said.

An army source said reinforcements of three battalions and heavy arms would be sent to the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area at the border. About 3,000 troops were deployed before the flare-up.

A source in the border area said the army's construction of a route and a bridge across a brook east of Pha Mor E-Daeng cliff has upset Cambodia.

Thai troops entered the area around noon yesterday.

Cambodia has claimed the area is in its territory and told the army to halt work, said the source.

The source said Cambodia is concerned that the route and the bridge will provide the Thai army with access to the Keo Sikha Kiri Savara pagoda and other sensitive areas.

The source said the area is part of the disputed territory and that Thai troops had occupied the area previously, but withdrew on Dec 1 last year.

According to the source, Cambodia had proceeded with construction of a 3.6-kilometre access road to Preah Vihear temple despite protests from Thailand that the work intruded on Thai soil.

Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh yesterday accused the Thai side of encroaching on Cambodian territory and violating an agreement.

An agreement reached by the Joint Boundary Commission states that construction cannot take place without a joint agreement.

"They [Thais] are saying that Cambodia started the shooting. We shouldn't focus on who started it, but on who violated the agreement," he said.

Thai army spokesman Col Sansern said the detention of the Thai soldiers might have stemmed from a misunderstanding.

"Those soldiers were sent to stand guard at a joint station with the Cambodians," he said.

 

[taksinloong]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/02/05/national/Border-clashes-kill-six-30148015.html

Border clashes kill six
By The Nation
Published on February 5, 2011


PM says Thai troops reacted to Cambodian firing in worst flare-up over a decade; Phnom Penh vows to take the issue to UN Security Council today

Artillery exchanges between Thailand and Cambodia yesterday in the disputed area near the Hindu Preah Vihear Temple killed at least six soldiers and civilians on both sides as well as damaged property in one of the worst border flare-ups in a decade.

Phnom Penh plans to complain today to the United Nations over what it terms a "Thai invasion", Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday.

"We will lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council on Saturday [today]," he was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.

However, Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan played down the significance of the incident. "We are negotiating now and I am sure that everything will be fine," he said.

Army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha said the situation calmed down after 6pm and some Thai soldiers were slightly injured but a soldier on the ground contacted by The Nation via telephone said they were still engaged in the battle late last night. "So far we have lost two, and I was injured. We cannot go down the Phu Ma Khua hill," the injured soldier said in a short conversation before the line was cut.

After the fighting ended, Second Army Area commander Lt-General Thawatchai Samutsakhon and Si Sa Ket Governor Somsak Suwansujarit held talks with a Cambodian army commander at the Phra Viharn National Park about the clash.

Charoen Thahom, a 50-year-old resident of Si Sa Ket's Phum Srol village, was killed by an artillery shell that landed in his village while he was leading his family to seek shelter after the border skirmish broke out.

At least seven buildings, including one owned by Phum Srol School, were hit by artillery shells fired from the Cambodian side.

Three houses were set ablaze.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said last night that the Thai side fired warning shots and then responded to the Cambodian fire when the warnings were ignored. He added that the fighting now was over. However, he declined to confirm a report that Thai soldiers had been captured during the clash.

The clash occurred at a disputed border area near Phu Ma Khua hill at 3.15pm and the sound of gunfire was heard at Si Sa Ket province's Ban Phum Srol about 5 kilometres from the hill, villagers said.

"We were at a sports event when the sound of many weapons, including small arms and heavy weapons, was heard from the battlefield," a resident told The Nation via telephone.

Besides the civilian and soldiers fatality, five Thai soldiers were injured in the clash, according to Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit.

Authorities told villagers to seek shelter and later evacuated them to safe areas deeper into Thai territory. Some of them moved to a downtown area of Kantharalak district, about 30km from the Preah Vihear Temple.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over the border area adjacent to Preah Vihear for a long time.

Both sides boosted troop numbers in the area recently after the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) staged a protest near the Prime Minister's Office demanding the government use force to kick Cambodians out of the area.

PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang said he was not happy with the border clash, since it damaged both sides. "It happened because Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva showed weakness to Cambodia," he said.

Troops clashed in 2008 and 2009 in the same area, resulting in the deaths of more than 10 soldiers on both sides.

The clash this time was fiercer as it saw the use of artillery that hit civilians and their homes. Residents saw many shells land near their villages in tambon Sao Thong Chai.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Cambodian troops opened fire first, triggering the exchange of fire.

However, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said Thai soldiers had crossed 500 metres into Cambodian territory and opened fire first despite efforts of Cambodian troops to avoid violence.

"Although Cambodian soldiers tried to negotiate to stop the Thai soldiers from invading Cambodia, the Thai Army kept moving deeper into Cambodian territory and opened fire without provocation by Cambodian forces. We have the right to self-defence to protect our land against Thai invasion," he said.

Cambodian media reported that least two Cambodian civilians and one soldier died after Thai shells landed on the Cambodian side.

Cambodia reportedly held four Thai soldiers at Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, which is in the disputed border area near Preah Vihear.

The clash broke out shortly after Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya finished a Joint Commission meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in Siem Reap. They told reporters there that they were happy with the improving relations and agreed to use peaceful means to settle the boundary con

 

[taksinloong]

A tense truce is barely holding as the army prepares to bury a soldier killed by Cambodian troops, and a school roof shows the impact of the shelling from across the border. (Photos by Sermpong Thongsamrit and Phongthai Wattanavanitvut)

 

[Faidenk]

I am no expert on the Thai Cambodian feud but it does remind me of the Malaysian Singapore spats whenever both sides need a bogeyman to divert people from its own internal problems.

Why would any of these countries risks going to war over a temple? If ownership of the temple had implications over the ownership of the vast oil and gas fields further south in the South China Sea.

So now we know.