By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press Writer AP
Thursday, March 26
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia accused Thai troops of crossing into its territory Wednesday and at one point said the two sides were "getting ready to fight," even as a Thai commander insisted all was calm and the border had not been breached.
According to Cambodian officials, more than 100 armed Thai soldiers entered Cambodia in the afternoon about a half-mile (a kilometer) west of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple and stayed several hours before agreeing to retreat.
The temple has long been a site of flare-ups over the countries' ill-defined border. Two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.
Cambodian army Capt. Theam Thy, who is stationed at the border, said the incursion occurred shortly after midday.
"The situation is very tense, and both sides are getting ready to fight," he told The Associated Press.
By early evening and after negotiations, the Thai side agreed to leave the area, said Brig. Gen. Yim Pim, a Cambodian army commander in the area.
"Now, there is no more confrontation between the two sides," Yim Pim said. "We asked them to pull back their forces, and they agreed."
But Thai army Col. Pichit Nakarun, stationed on the Thai side of the border, denied any troop activity.
"There has been no troop movement that encroaches on the Cambodian border," he told The AP. "The situation is not more tense than usual."
Soldiers from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, when long-standing tensions flared after UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage Site.
More clashes erupted in October when two Thai soldiers lost legs after stepping on land mines. The incident came just days after a brief gunfight broke out between troops from the two sides. One Cambodian and two Thai soldiers were wounded. Both sides claimed the other fired first and blamed each other for being on the wrong side of the border.
In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.
The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.
Associated Press Writer AP
Thursday, March 26
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia accused Thai troops of crossing into its territory Wednesday and at one point said the two sides were "getting ready to fight," even as a Thai commander insisted all was calm and the border had not been breached.
According to Cambodian officials, more than 100 armed Thai soldiers entered Cambodia in the afternoon about a half-mile (a kilometer) west of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple and stayed several hours before agreeing to retreat.
The temple has long been a site of flare-ups over the countries' ill-defined border. Two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.
Cambodian army Capt. Theam Thy, who is stationed at the border, said the incursion occurred shortly after midday.
"The situation is very tense, and both sides are getting ready to fight," he told The Associated Press.
By early evening and after negotiations, the Thai side agreed to leave the area, said Brig. Gen. Yim Pim, a Cambodian army commander in the area.
"Now, there is no more confrontation between the two sides," Yim Pim said. "We asked them to pull back their forces, and they agreed."
But Thai army Col. Pichit Nakarun, stationed on the Thai side of the border, denied any troop activity.
"There has been no troop movement that encroaches on the Cambodian border," he told The AP. "The situation is not more tense than usual."
Soldiers from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, when long-standing tensions flared after UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage Site.
More clashes erupted in October when two Thai soldiers lost legs after stepping on land mines. The incident came just days after a brief gunfight broke out between troops from the two sides. One Cambodian and two Thai soldiers were wounded. Both sides claimed the other fired first and blamed each other for being on the wrong side of the border.
In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.
The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.
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