BANGKOK – A senior Thai security official alleged Monday that members of the anti-government Red Shirt movement were trained in Cambodia to assassinate top Thai leaders, including the prime minister.

Eleven men who were arrested last week in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai were among 39 given ideological and combat training in a “neighbouring country,” Lt. Col. Payao Thongsen, a senior investigator for the Department of Special Investigation, said at a news conference.

He did not name the country but described the routes the men allegedly took to their training ground, which led to Cambodian border crossings.

Cambodian officials were not immediately available for comment late Monday but have denied previous such allegations published in Thai media. Cambodia’s relations with Thailand have been contentious for years, with the focus mostly on a border dispute.

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