Phnom Penh, April 23, 2011 AKP –Three Cambodian soldiers were killed and six others were injured in the latest Thai invasion in the areas of Ta Mone and Ta Krabey Temples in Oddar Meanchey province.Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, told a press briefing held here yesterday evening at National Television of Cambodia (TVK).
On Apr. 22, at 06:00 am, Thai troops attacked Cambodian soldiers stationed at Ta Krabey and Ta Mone Temples, Chup Koki and other areas along the border for about 25 kilometers, he said.
The first attack began at 06:00 a.m. and ended at 09:50 am, and the 2nd attack took place at 12:10 p.m. for ten minutes, he pointed out.
Four villages nearby the fighting zones – Ta Mone, Bosh Thom, Thmar Daun and Chup Koki – have been damaged and thousands of villagers have been forced to flee their houses for safe shelters, said Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat, adding that Thai troops have shelled on temples and damage them.
Thailand has not only used heavy weapons, but also surveillance airplane flying over Cambodian territory from Ta Krabey Temple to O’smach, he said.
For his part, H.E. Phay Siphan, Spokesman for the Office of the Council of Ministers, said this invasion has been planned in advance by the Thai side.
In another press briefing held earlier on the same day at the Office of the Council of Ministers, Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat and H.E. Phay Siphan said the fresh armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand started after Thai infantry attacked Cambodian troops with many types of weapons and Thai artilleries fell as far as 21 kilometers inside Cambodia.
“Thailand’s aggression is an unacceptable act. It violated the Statement of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on a permanent ceasefire,” said H.E. Phay Siphan.
In his letters dated Apr. 22 sent to the Chair of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. R.M. Marty Natalegawa and the UNSC President H.E. Néstor Osorio, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H.E. Hor Namhong said this fresh military attack takes place in spite of intensive regional efforts by Indonesia, Chair of ASEAN, supported by the UNSC to engender a permanent ceasefire and a peaceful solution, after Thailand’s large-scale offensive against Cambodia last February.
This deliberate act of aggression explains why Thailand has until now refused to accept the successive drafts of the Terms of Reference (TOR), proposed by the ASEAN Chair, for the deployment of the Indonesian Observers to monitor the commitment of both sides to avoid further armed clashes, while Cambodia has already given its immediate positive response for the fourth time to the draft TOR after its revision to accommodate Thailand’s position, he added.
This most recent aggression against Cambodia also confirms the reason behind Thailand’s insistence on resolving the conflict “bilaterally”, which is a pretext for the use of its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces against Cambodia, he said.
Cambodia has so far exercised its maximum restraint and demonstrated its goodwill in order to maintain an atmosphere favorable for a peaceful settlement, said H.E. Hor Namhong, stressing that however, it reserves the rights to self-defense in the face of such deliberate acts of aggression. –AKP
By SOKMOM Nimul
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