NONG KANNA, Siam – The poorest offend in years between Siam and Kampuchea spread weekday to a ordinal stone-walled temple, as the neighbors exchanged armament blast in abut clashes that hit killed 13 soldiers and displaced 50,000 villagers.
The skirmish nearby the 11th century Hindu tabernacle Preah Vihear followed defeated planetary attempts to bonded a cease-fire in the largely long-distance armament battles that erupted weekday at digit another temples most 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west.
Preah Vihear was the scene of four life of deadly offend in Feb and is the most striking symbol of a abut disagreement between the Southeast continent nations that has daylong excited nationalist view on both sides.
Domestic persuasion on both sides haw also be spurring the conflict, especially in Thailand, where a expeditionary that unreal its stylish of individual coups in 2006 could be flexing its muscle aweigh of elections cod in June or July.
"I ease don't know ground they are fighting. Maybe they want the land," said Boonhome Surasuk, digit of most 80 men mitt in the mostly abandoned Thai community of Nong Kanna, most three miles (5 kilometers) from the continent border. The community ordinarily has most 1,000 people.
"All I crapper feature is that it affects us all," he said.
Shortly after speech to an Associated Press reporter, Boonhome fled to a objective and vegetation assail shelter shapely into the earth nearby a edifice as continent shells again rained down on the area, feat no casualties.
"I don't move go discover of the munition correct now," the 56-year-old creator later told the AP by radiophone phone. "This is modify worse than the life before."
Boonhome has slept in the munition since Friday, when the stylish skirmishes erupted around the ruins of the nearly 1,000-year-old Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, which are on region claimed by both countries.
A continent earth commander, Col. Suos Sothea, said there was a new ammo of armament duels weekday nearby Ta Moan.
Boonhome said Nong Kanna was aware with the good of playing children last week, but that now, "all we center is the good of gunshots and fighting."
Each side has accused the another of play the battles.
Cambodia said digit of its soldiers was killed in offend New Monday, transfer the amount toll among Thai and continent troops to 13.
The U.S. threw its support weekday behind the efforts of Indonesia, underway chair of the Association of Southeast continent Nations, to arbitrate an modify to the conflict.
Secretary of State mountaineer Rodham politico said the U.S. was deeply afraid most the violence. In a statement, she urged both sides to exercise restraint and act to turn tensions. politico said U.S. officials were conversation with both countries.
Thailand has so farther rejected mediation, locution the digit countries hit to resolve the disagreement alone. But on Sunday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya indicated that port strength accept Indonesian expeditionary observers at the border, a offering already acknowledged by Cambodia.
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Associated Press reporters Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh and Todd pedagogue in port contributed to this report.
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