Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged gunfire briefly on Friday in a disputed area on their border, a Thai official said, raising tensions that erupted into a deadly clash last year.
The exchange of shots occurred about 7.10am after Cambodian soldiers went to investigate the area where a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine on Thursday and lost a leg, Si Sa Ket governor Seni Chittakasem said.
"There is no report of loss (of life) on the Thai side and it's ended now,'' he said.
The trouble flared one kilometre inside the disputed territory, the governor said.
A Cambodian soldier stationed at the border said the gunfire had further raised tensions between troops, but disputed that Thai soldiers had fired any shots.
"A group of Thai soldiers this morning entered Cambodian territory and Cambodian troops opened fire,'' Yeim Kheang told AFP by telephone.
"The situation is now tense... the Thai troops did not fire back,'' he said.
Thailand's foreign ministry immediately accused Cambodia of violating its sovereignty and said it would be sending a note of protest to authorities in Phnom Penh.
"We had to retaliate because Cambodians opened fire at Thai soldiers first. We want to reiterate that this area is our territory,'' ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat told AFP.
There was no immediate comment from Cambodian authorities.
The landmine incident a day earlier had put Cambodian troops on "high alert'' he said, two days after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned Thailand there would be fighting if its troops crossed their disputed frontier.
Tensions over the long-disputed territory flared in July last year after the 11th century Preah Vihear temple at the border was granted Unesco World Heritage status. Troops clashed in the area in October and four soldiers died.
Subsequent talks between Cambodia and Thailand have not resolved the dispute.
The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.
Source: Bangkok Post
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