Thai army says Cambodia claims new border strike was accident amid truce

"Thailand's army says Cambodia has claimed that a new strike was an accident, after a Thai soldier was wounded in a mortar attack in a disputed border region, as a ceasefire agreed in late December continues to hold. On Tuesday morning, Thai forces had accused their Cambodian counterparts of violating the 10-day-old truce, after bombarding a border province. But in a later statement, the Thai military said the Cambodian side had contacted them to explain there was no intention to fire into Thai territory,"

"adding that the incident was caused by an operational error by Cambodian personnel. Thailand's army accused Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Ubon Ratchathani province, with one soldier wounded by shrapnel and evacuated for medical treatment. The Thai military unit in the area issued a warning to Cambodia to exercise caution and emphasised that if such errors occur again, Thailand may be compelled to carry out defensive countermeasures, said the Thai army."

"The decades-old dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing about one million on both sides. The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, ending three weeks of clashes. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata declined to comment on the alleged strike on Tuesday."

Thai forces reported a soldier wounded by shrapnel after mortar rounds landed in Ubon Ratchathani province. Thai military initially accused Cambodian forces of violating a 10-day-old truce by bombarding the border province. Cambodia contacted Thai authorities and said there was no intention to fire into Thai territory, attributing the incident to an operational error by Cambodian personnel. The Thai unit warned that repeated errors could prompt defensive countermeasures. The decades-old territorial dispute over an 800km border and temple ruins led to deadly clashes and mass displacement last year. The two sides agreed a December 27 truce and pledged to freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining.

Read at www.aljazeera.com