THAI AND CAMBODIAN FORCES CLASH AT TEMPLE

TA KRABEY, Thailand - Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed Friday at a temple in a contentious border region, with reports indicating that four soldiers were killed. The two sides exchanged fire with rockets, machine guns and rifles at a temple in Ta Krabey in Thailand's Surin province. Thai Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd (right photo) said the fighting began at dawn and lasted for more than an hour.

• Serm Chainarong, the governor of Surin province, said the authorities were preparing to evacuate about 5,000 people from the area.
• Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat three Cambodian soldiers were killed and six wounded, while a Thai army spokeswoman said one Thai soldier was killed.
• Thai Lt. Col. Siriya Khuangsirikul said both sides "are in the middle of negotiating a cease-fire."
• The two countries have been locked in a decades-old dispute over temples and the land that surrounds them. Nationalist fervor in both countries has recently fueled the dispute.

In February, at least eight people were killed when the two countries exchanged artillery and gunfire at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, which is about 250 kilometres from the site of Friday's clash.
Clashes have erupted several times since 2008, when Preah Vihear was designated a United Nations World Heritage site.

Source; Agency