Saturday, 13 September 2008

Thai soldiers encroach upon Cambodian territory

The Phnom Penh Post

13-09-2008

This time they settled in a temple in the Dongrek Mountains, claiming it belongs to Thailand.

Thai military are on the ball; while the country is in a period of uncertainty, a hundred soldiers decided to take a short trip to Cambodia for two days. On Wednesday September around 6:30 pm, a detachment of soldiers invested the Kingdom at the Takrabey temple, located only 15 km from Ta Moan temple, in the mountains of Dongrek, in Oddor Meancheay province.

They regard the temple as being in the disputed free zone between the two countries and that it belongs to Thailand. The Thai soldier’s’ incursion occurred after a deployment of Cambodian soldiers around the temple.

Early Thursday afternoon, negotiations were held between both countries heads concluding in a modus vivendi. The Thai militaries agreed to evacuate the temple area and to withdraw to their territory subject to two conditions: that Cambodian soldiers also evacuate the zone and that guards can keep watch from time to time.

This new incident inspired comment from the spokesperson of the Council of Ministers. “Thailand is again invading, and as usual peaceful negotiations were held. The incident will be notified to the international community”, he explained.

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