A Change of Guard

សូមស្តាប់វិទ្យុសង្គ្រោះជាតិ Please read more Khmer news and listen to CNRP Radio at National Rescue Party. សូមស្តាប់វីទ្យុខ្មែរប៉ុស្តិ៍/Khmer Post Radio.
Follow Khmerization on Facebook/តាមដានខ្មែរូបនីយកម្មតាម Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/khmerization.khmerican

Sunday 18 April 2010

Cambodian and Thai troops clashed twice on Saturday


By Khmerization
sources: RFA & RFI

Cambodian and Thai troops have clashed twice on Saturday near O'Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, reports Radio Free Asia.

A Cambodian soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity said Cambodian and Thai soldiers clashed twice near border pillar number 14 east of O'Smach international checkpoint when both sides lauched M-79 and B-40 rockets at each other. The first clash happened at 7:45am and lasted about 15 minutes. The second clash occurred at 9:45am and lasted for about 5 minutes. "They (Thai troops) were based on the left side of Ta Thorng Mountain and we were based on the other side, but it is our mountain located within border pillar number 14. Where we are based we have built houses and they demanded we dismantle them, but we refused because they were built on our soil. There were two clashes, one at 7:45am and another one at 9:45am, two times. They entered out territory to shoot us first. They shelled us first and then their foot soldiers came down to attack us", he said.

Mr. Ton Nhean, commander of Battalion 402 based in the area, declined to make any comment regarding the clashes. However, there is no immediate report of any casualty from either side.

Gen. Chea Dara (pictured), Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in charge of Military Region Four, said Thai soldiers shot at Cambodian troops first from their trenches located 200 metres from the borderline. "The clashes this morning occurred east of O'Smach. I don't know what happened with the Thai soldiers, or may be they were drunk the night before or something, they shot at our troops based 200 metres from their position. There was no injury, this morning's incident did not cause any casualty. We have resolved the issue already. Now, the battalion commanders from both sides have met", he said.

AFP has quoted a Thai commander who confirmed that the clashes had occurred.

Radio France Internationale reported that late Saturday afternoon, Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Cambodian Defence Ministry, said that a number of Thai troops had been injured and killed in the clashes. He had also said that 12 Thai soldiers had moved in to occupy a spot at Phnom Trop, which is located about 5 kilometres from Preah Vihear temple, since Friday. As of Saturday afternoon, those 12 Thai soldiers have not been withdrawn yet and that the Cambodian side is continuing to negotiate with the Thai commander to demand that he orders the withrawal of those 12 soldiers from the spot.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why most World medias afraid to talk about Khmer issues in Predate History?

Anonymous said...

The Thais will not leave Cambodia alone because Hun Sen is very weak and neglect border protection. From what the soldier said here, the area seem to belong to Cambodia, Cambodian territory I mean, because he said the Thais came down to attack Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia and Thailand use the mountain as a borderline, so the top of the mountain is the borderline in this case. If the Thais came down from the mountain to attack Cambodian troops it means they have crossed into Cambodian territory.

Anonymous said...

18 April 2010 9:06 AM

If Hun Sen is weak, does that mean you're the strong one? Come on, midget. A strongest survive. Hun Sen is the strongest one among all the Khmer politicians. How the Royalist and other political factions become the minority didn't just happen on its own.

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen is only strong with Khmers, but very scared of foreigners. If he is strong he would have won the most fairest election in 1993. He lost and refused to give up power and since then has used the military, the police, the court and the bureaucracy to intimidate and persecute oppositions. if Hun sen thinks he is strong then let the UN organize the election again and see who will win.

The borders on Vietnam and Thai sides have been lost a large chunk and you think Hun sen is strong? You must be joking.

Anonymous said...

Hi, would you please, auditor sir, check spelling of Gen. Chea Tara or Chea Dara? what is his exact name sir? because every arcle I read was Dara, but on his uniform as always Tara. thanks

Anonymous said...

ha, liberals out there, Hun Sen is not strong at all, because he is relied on Vietnamese behind him that is why? and Thai is not afraid khmer at all, they afraid of Viet. A yourn that all. they are the ones invaded any country that border to them as khmer was. get it? now you think Hun Sen strong? yes he's strong by killing our own people like poor khmer people right?

Khmerization said...

Dara should be the correct spelling and it means "star". Tara, as in Tara the girl's name, is a literal transliteration of the Cambodian spelling which is written exactly "Tara", but it is pronounced as Dara, not Tara. Every Cambodian name written "Tara" in Cambodian are written as Dara in English and it is the correct spelling because it is pronounced as Dara, not Tara even though it is written as Tara. However, in respect we should write this general's name like the way it was written in his ID and document papers even though it is not correct.