Fighting breaks out between Thai and Cambodian troops

Phnom Penh/Bangkok – Cambodia and Thailand traded artillery and gunfire Friday at their northern border as Cambodia said more than 100 Thai artillery shells had landed in a civilian area in its territory.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reported ‘two or three’ Thai soldiers had been wounded, citing a military source.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan blamed Thailand for the violence and said troops had captured four Thai soldiers during the clashes.

He had no word on whether there were any civilian or military casualties.

‘A report from the battlefield said they used 105-millimetre artillery and shelled into Svay Chum commune, a civilian target with no military presence,’ he said.

Phay Siphan said fighting started when Thai soldiers pushed 500 metres into Cambodian territory.

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