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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Cambodia-Thailand-Bor
der-Dispute.html

Cambodian, Thai Troops Said Hurt in Border Clash

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 3, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Soldiers from both Cambodia and
Thailand were wounded Friday in a brief clash along their
volatile border, officials from the two countries said.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said a Cambodian
soldier was slightly wounded when Thai troops fired a grenade
from their territory. He said Cambodian troops returned fire,
with the ''military incident'' lasting less than a minute.

Thai officials initially denied knowledge of the incident, but a
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman later said Cambodian troops had
encroached on Thai territory and had been the first to fire,
wounding two Thai troops.

Late Friday, the Foreign Ministry said the situation ''has now
returned to normalcy.''

Tensions along the normally peaceful border between Cambodia and
Thailand flared on July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N. cultural
agency, approved Cambodia's application to have a disputed 11th
century temple named a World Heritage Site. Friday's clash took
place about two miles (three kilometers) west of the temple,
Preah Vihear.

A spokesman for Cambodia's Cabinet, Phay Siphan, said the
incident began after Cambodian troops intercepted a trespassing
Thai patrol. He said the Thai troops retreated in response to a
warning from the Cambodians, but then fired the grenade.

Cambodian troops returned fire with AK-47 assault rifles, with
the exchange of fire lasting three to five minutes, he said.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Friday
evening that the Thai troops had been patrolling in their own
territory when they encountered the Cambodian soldiers.

''The Cambodian troops shot at the Thai troops first, wounding
two soldiers.
One Cambodian soldier was also wounded after the Thais
responded,'' he said.

Lt. Gen. Wiboonsak Ngeepan, the regional army commander for
northeastern Thailand, said it was unclear if the Cambodians
intruded intentionally or had strayed into Thailand because ''the
area is dense forest.''

The Foreign Ministry statement said the Thai military contacted
their Cambodian counterparts after the incident and that the
Cambodians agreed to investigate the clash. It also said that
Cambodia pledged to coordinate more closely with Thailand in the
future.

Both countries have long claimed Preah Vihear, but the World
Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962. Sovereignty over some of
the land around the temple, however, has not been clearly
resolved.

After UNESCO approved the temple's listing as a World Heritage
Site, Thailand sent troops to occupy the nearby Keo Sikha Kiri
Svara pagoda, also claimed by Cambodia.

Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment. The two sides
came close to a shootout on July 17 when Cambodian monks sought
to celebrate Buddhist lent in the pagoda.

Troops on both sides raised their weapons, but no shots were
fired, and the Cambodians eventually backed down.

Since then there has been a limited troop withdrawal from the
area, and talks have been held several times on resolving the
conflicting claims, but without much progress.

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