Bagi yang mo ke Cambodia, hati2 kalo pergi ke Prah Viehar (World Heritage Sites
di Cambodia selain Angkor Wat)
Fighting Erupts on Preah Vihear Border
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 April 2009
Cambodian
and Thai troops exchanged gun, rocket and artillery fire in clashes
along the disputed Preah Vihear border on Friday, with both sides
blaming the other for firing first in the most serious fighting to date
in a months-long standoff. Two Thai deaths
and six injuries were confirmed by the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, but
Cambodian military sources said late Friday at least two more Thai
soldiers were killed in afternoon battles. The Thai Embassy was not
able to confirm the other two Thai fatalities. There were conflicting reports
of casualties from within the Cambodian government. Ten
Thai soldiers were being held as a result of the fighting, said
government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, who told VOA Khmer no Cambodians
were injured or killed. However, Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces commander Gen. Pol Sareoun said two Cambodians
had been killed, in fighting started by the Thais. Around
7:15 am, five Thai soldiers entered Veal Entry, or Eagle Field,
encountering a forest encampment of Cambodian soldiers, who ordered
them to turn back, military officials in Phnom Penh and on the border
said. Cambodian infantryman Chan Chhorn,
who was monitoring radio traffic near Eagle Field Friday morning, told
VOA Khmer the Thais had fired first. The
Thai Embassy could not confirm who shot first, but a Thai military
spokesman told CNN in Bangkok that the fighting was sparked by an
“intrusion” of Cambodian troops on Thai soil. By
1:30 pm, the fighting had spread to three other sites—Phnom Trap, an
area known as “Beehive,” and Krom market, near Preah Vihear
temple—according to Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, who
provided reporters a map of the fighting late Friday. A civilian
market area burned and portions of Preah Vihear temple were damaged by
rocket and machine gunfire Friday afternoon, Chan Chhorn said. The fighting
had stopped by Friday evening, officials said. No
civilians were reported dead Friday. A villager living near the temple
said those who had motorcycles or cars had fled the area. The
shooting follows the injury to a landmine by one Thai soldier near
Eagle Field Thursday and a tense armed standoff without shooting at
Eagle Field on Monday and Tuesday. Eagle Field was also the site of
fighting in October, where at least one Thai and three Cambodians died.
Thai and Cambodian troops have been amassed
along the border since July 2008, when Preah Vihear temple’s Unesco
World Heritage listing sparked protests in Bangkok and on the border.
Friday’s fighting was the most serious so far, in a series of
escalations since July. Both sides lay claim
to a small stretch of land near the ancient cliff-top temple, with each
using different map versions to mark the border. Friday’s
fighting had not canceled a scheduled meeting between joint border
committees in Phnom Penh on Monday and Tuesday, according to Var
Kimhong, chief of Cambodia’s border committee. Prime
Minister Hun Sen is expected to attend an Asean forum in Thailand next
week. Officials could not confirm whether that trip will be canceled as
a result of Friday’s fighting.
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