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October 16, 2008
PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA -- The Cambodian and Thai militaries agreed Thursday
to hold joint patrols at a disputed border area where a gun battle between
the two sides left two soldiers dead, a Thai army spokesman said.

A Cambodian army officer confirmed the two sides agreed on measures to
prevent further fighting after Wednesday's hour-long gunfight killed two
Cambodians, wounded three others and wounded seven Thais.

The agreement came at a meeting of senior officers held in Thailand's
Sisaket province, just across the border from Cambodia.

Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd said the two sides agreed they
would both maintain troops in the area, with "joint patrols to reduce
tension and the chances of a misunderstanding which could lead to another
clash."

Maj. Gen. Srey Doek, a Cambodian army commander, said the sides "have agreed
to prevent further armed clashes" and will continue negotiations on the
demarcation issues that led to the dispute.

The situation was calm but volatile, with soldiers on both sides facing off
on territory near the landmark 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

"We have been ordered by our commanders to be on alert and ready to fight,"
said a Cambodian soldier at the temple, Capt. Theam Thuy.

On the Cambodian side, Associated Press reporters saw dozens of additional
Cambodian troops in armored personnel carriers on their way to the front
line.

After Wednesday's fighting, thousands of Cambodian villagers living near the
temple fled their homes, fearing more violence. Families packed rice,
clothes and chickens into cars, pickup trucks and carts pulled by motorized
plowing machines, forming long convoys heading away from the border zone.

The clash was the first deadly fighting since July, when the UNESCO approved
Cambodia's bid to make Preah Vihear temple a U.N. World Heritage site. The
decision ignited long-standing tensions between the neighbors, who both
claim land around the temple, and prompted the two countries to rush troops
to the border.

Many Thais feared their country's claim over nearby land would be
undermined, and anti-government protesters pressed the Thai government to
take a harder line on the border conflict. The protesters have riled their
country's politics by seeking the ouster of the ruling party, occupying the
grounds of the prime minister's offices for the past two months.

Thailand Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat told reporters Thursday that the
dispute will be solved through negotiations.

"Though there was a clash yesterday, it was not a major one," he said.

Each side accused the other of firing first. Thailand's Foreign Ministry
said Thai soldiers were peacefully patrolling their own territory along the
border when Cambodian soldiers shot at them with rocket propelled grenades
and submachine guns.

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry accused Thai troops of launching "heavy armed
attacks" at three different locations to push back Cambodians from positions
inside Cambodian territory.


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Dan