25/04/2011
Bangkok Post
A fresh clash between Thai and Cambodian soldiers was reported on Monday morning, the fourth day running, but no casualties were reported.
Field reports said there was a clash about 10am around Ta Muen Thom temple near Ban Nong Khan Na in tambon Ta Miang of Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district.
The sounds of rifle, machinegun and mortar fire could be heard continually from the area. No more artillery shells landed on Thai soil.
The public relations centre of the 2nd Army's forward headquarters on Monday reported that five soldiers had been killed and 35 wounded since the fighting began on Friday. There were 25,000 civilian evacuees in Surin and 4,500 in Buri Ram.
2nd Army commander Tawatchai Samutsakhon said the Thai military's response to Cambodian attacks has been limited to military targets, unlike the Cambodian soldiers who fired 10 artillery rounds into Ban Nong Khan Na village in Phanom Dong Rak on Sunday.
A sporadic firefight involving small arms and mortars also occurred between Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom temples on Sunday night. lasting until about 11pm, he said.
National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government will decide whether or not to go to war with Cambodia over the disputed border, not the military.
The army was ready to follow the orders of the government. However, he believed there should be bilateral meetings, not a war, because people from both sides were being hurt by the conflict.
"If Cambodia doesn't want to negotiate, then it will not be necessary for us to negotiate either," the army chief said.
Thai troops sent to the border area had not retreated, and had retaliated in kind, Gen Prayuth said.
"The Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Thai armed forces don't agree with having third-party observers in the disputed border area, but if it is required then there must be regulations to cover it and all troops from the two countries must move out of the area.
"I don't think there is any country that wants foreign troops to invade its territory, and it is not necessary to have third-party observers at this time," Gen Prayuth added.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya urged Surin residents fleeing border clashes to be patient, saying the government and his ministry are trying to end the fighting through negotiations.
Mr Kasit said the evacuees could expect to return home and resume their normal lives soon. The minister later handed over 50 sacks of rice to evacuees in Surin's Ban Khok Klang district and listened to their stories of problems and hardship.
Grandma Lae Suksawaeng, 75, of tambon Tamiang in Phanom Dong Rak district, said she wanted the fighting to end soon because she, like everyone else, wanted to return home.
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