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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Thai, Cambodian troops exchange border gunfire
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-15 18:44
"Thai businessmen who have no need to be in Cambodia now, please rush back to Thailand," he told reporters, adding that the military had an evacuation plan ready if needed. In 2003, Thai commandoes and military transport planes landed in the middle of the night at Phnom Penh airport to oversee the evacuation of 600 Thai citizens from the riots, which severely damaged relations between the southeast Asian nations. Accusations fly As with other less serious clashes along the border in the last four months, each side accused the other of aggression. "I can confirm there was fighting between Cambodians and Thais. The Thais fired at us first," Preab Tan, governor of Cambodia's northern Preah Vihear province, told Reuters. Thailand's Foreign Ministry issued a flat denial. "We have confirmation of the shooting incident involving light firearms or RPG. Thai troops insisted they did not start the incident, and we're following the prime minister's policy of exercising restraint," a spokesman said. On Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused a small group of Thai soldiers of an incursion, and threatened to turn the area into a "death zone" unless they withdrew by midday on Tuesday. The Thai stock market dropped 2.2 in the immediate aftermath of news of Wednesday's firing, but it was not immediately clear if it was a direct consequence of the clash. Singapore and Indonesia have asked both sides to show restraint. |
