Cambodian, Thai troops friendly to each other after deadly border clash
20/10/2008 16:46
The Cambodian and Thai troops have become friendly to each other, despite
the fact that an armed clash killed two Cambodians and wounded more Thais on
Oct. 15 near the Preah Vihear Temple at the border area, officers told Xinhua
today.
"They are shaking hands, talking to each other and asking about daily
food," said Thol Sovan, deputy military commander of the Cambodian side at the
Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, which is situated on the only road leading to the
temple.
They had good relationship and both troops at the pagoda didn't
exchange gunfire on Oct. 15, he said.
"The Thai side didn't (dare to) shoot
at us in Preah Vihear , Cambodia, because we were all around them at that time,"
he said.
But Thai soldiers elsewhere shot at them, he said, while pointing at
newly burnt branches of the jack fruit tree in front of the
pagoda.
Meanwhile, Thai military major Apichaut Poo Paud told Xinhua that the
troops themselves were like brothers and didn't have problem with each
other.
"We have good cooperation and relationship," he said, adding that 10
Thai soldiers and two interpreters stayed in the pagoda compound.
In other
places, Cambodia and Thailand were keeping the same number of soldiers, he
added.
Srey Doek, regional military commander of Cambodia, told Xinhua that
the situation near the temple was now normal and calm.
However, the number of
both troops within the territory is roughly estimated at a thousand strong, he
added.
After the Oct. 15 armed conflict, both troops have agreed to conduct
joint patrol of the border area, but the two governments have postponed their
talks from tomorrow (Oct. 21) to Friday (Oct. 24) to find peaceful solution to
their border dispute.
In July, tensions ran high after the ancient Preah
Vihear Temple was awarded world heritage status, angering nationalists in
Thailand who still claimed ownership of the site.
The tension later turned
into a military stalemate, in which up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops faced
off for several weeks.
In early October, at least one Cambodian soldier and
two Thai troops were wounded during sporadic exchange of gunfire and two other
Thai soldiers were seriously injured after stepping on a landmine at the border
area.
Xinhua
|
