BANGKOK, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- More than 500 Thais working or residing in Cambodia have left the country in fear of possible reprisal after Wednesday's brief skirmish at the disputed border area as military officials continued negotiation to avoid a big-scale confrontation.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said 467 came back on Thai Airways yesterday while about 100 workers left Kampot by land due to rising tension between the two countries after yesterday's clash left two Cambodian soldiers and several troops from both sides injured.
He said there were about 1,000 Thais in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and between 400 to 500 in Seam Reap where the famous ancient Hindu temple Angkor Wat is located.
"More people are coming back from Cambodia voluntarily. The government did not force them to return," he told a press conference after the ministry briefed 67 representatives of Bangkok-based foreign embassies and international organisations.
A Thai-Cambodian working group is meeting in Si Sa Ket province where the disputed ancient Preah Vihear temple is located and became the source of sovereignty dispute for decades.
-- MORE
THAILAND-CAMBODIA 2 (LAST) BANGKOK
The Preah Vihear temple, known as Phra Viharn in Thailand, was named a World Heritage Site at a Unesco meeting in Quebec, Canada this year, despite Thai opposition to the listing.
Yesterday's skirmish, coming a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gave an ultimatum for Thai soldiers to be withdrawn from the disputed border area or face war, saw United Nation's secretary-general Ban Ki Moon calling for restraint from both sides.
Tharit said Thailand was not keen to engage in a violent confrontation with Cambodia over the disputed area and instead was ready to return to the negotiation table once it got approval from Parliament.
On claims that several Thai soldiers had been captured, Tharit said it was not true, adding that the picture released by the Cambodians were old ones and insisted that the soldiers shown were actually on duty now along the border.
Ministry officials also showed landmines that they claimed were new ones planted along the border by the Cambodians and which injured two Thai para-military rangers who lost their legs after stepping on it early this month.
The Nation daily reported today that Cambodia was putting pressure on Thailand to return to the negotiation table as the country must submit an administrative plan for the temple to the World Heritage Committee by next February. But this cannot be done as long as the boundary issue is not solved.
-- BERNAMA
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said 467 came back on Thai Airways yesterday while about 100 workers left Kampot by land due to rising tension between the two countries after yesterday's clash left two Cambodian soldiers and several troops from both sides injured.
He said there were about 1,000 Thais in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and between 400 to 500 in Seam Reap where the famous ancient Hindu temple Angkor Wat is located.
"More people are coming back from Cambodia voluntarily. The government did not force them to return," he told a press conference after the ministry briefed 67 representatives of Bangkok-based foreign embassies and international organisations.
A Thai-Cambodian working group is meeting in Si Sa Ket province where the disputed ancient Preah Vihear temple is located and became the source of sovereignty dispute for decades.
-- MORE
THAILAND-CAMBODIA 2 (LAST) BANGKOK
The Preah Vihear temple, known as Phra Viharn in Thailand, was named a World Heritage Site at a Unesco meeting in Quebec, Canada this year, despite Thai opposition to the listing.
Yesterday's skirmish, coming a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gave an ultimatum for Thai soldiers to be withdrawn from the disputed border area or face war, saw United Nation's secretary-general Ban Ki Moon calling for restraint from both sides.
Tharit said Thailand was not keen to engage in a violent confrontation with Cambodia over the disputed area and instead was ready to return to the negotiation table once it got approval from Parliament.
On claims that several Thai soldiers had been captured, Tharit said it was not true, adding that the picture released by the Cambodians were old ones and insisted that the soldiers shown were actually on duty now along the border.
Ministry officials also showed landmines that they claimed were new ones planted along the border by the Cambodians and which injured two Thai para-military rangers who lost their legs after stepping on it early this month.
The Nation daily reported today that Cambodia was putting pressure on Thailand to return to the negotiation table as the country must submit an administrative plan for the temple to the World Heritage Committee by next February. But this cannot be done as long as the boundary issue is not solved.
-- BERNAMA
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