Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight day today over a disputed border area surrounding a 900-year-old mountaintop temple, deepening political uncertainty in Bangkok and prompting Cambodia to urge UN intervention.
Several hours of shelling and machine gun fire subsided at around 11am local time, creating an uneasy peace in the 4.6sq/km contested area around the Preah Vihear temple claimed by both Southeast Asian neighbours.
Cambodia's government said today's fighting had killed five people and wounded 45 others on its side of the border. It did not specify whether the casualties were troops or civilians.
Both sides blame the other for sparking clashes that have killed at least two Thais and eight Cambodians since Friday and unleashed nationalist passions in Bangkok, energising "yellowshirt" protesters demanding Thailand's government step down.
Reasons behind the fighting remain murky. Some analysts reckon hawkish Thai generals and nationalist allies may be trying to topple Thailand's government or even create a pretext to stage another coup and cancel elections expected this year.
Others say it may be a simple breakdown in communication channels at a time of strained relations over Cambodia's flying of a national flag in the disputed area and laying of a stone tablet inscribed with "This is Cambodia".
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen called on the UN Security Council to convene an urgent meeting, accusing Thailand of "repeated acts of aggression" that have killed Cambodians and caused a wing of the temple to collapse.
In a speech in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Hun Sen directly addressed his Thai counterpart. "We will go to the UN Security Council whether you like it or not," he said during a university graduation ceremony, calling on the United Nations to deploy peacekeeping troops to the area. "The armed clash is threatening regional security."
Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wrote to the Security Council, saying Cambodia was trying to internationalise a bilateral issue, accusing its troops of launching attacks that were "pre-mediated and well-planned in advance".
Thai troops "had no choice but to exercise the inherent right of self defence," Mr Abhisit said.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was "deeply concerned" and urged both sides to cease fire and find a "lasting solution" to the dispute, echoing a similar statement from Washington over the weekend.
The Association of South East Asian Nations has sent Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to Cambodia today in a bid to defuse the crisis.
Reuters