UNESCO to assess damage to Hindu temple in Cambodia

APA weapon is placed on the stone at the entrance of Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia.

UNESCO plans plans to send a mission to assess the damage caused to the 11th century Shiva temple, a World Heritage site, by the recent armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia

The United Nations cultural agency plans to send a mission to assess the damage caused to the Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage site, by the recent armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

Tensions first escalated between the South-East Asian neighbours in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the temple, which dates back to the 11th century and is located on the Cambodian side of the border.

The temple, dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) earlier that year.

The temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800-metre-long axis.

The site is exceptional for the quality of its carved stone ornamentation and its architecture, adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, according to UNESCO.

There have been renewed armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in recent days, prompting calls for restraint by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on Tuesday reiterated her call for calm and restraint around the temple.

“World Heritage sites are the heritage of all humanity and the international community has a special responsibility to safeguard them. This requires a collective effort that must be undertaken in a spirit of consultation and dialogue,” she stated in a news release.

“Heritage should unite people and serve as an instrument of dialogue and mutual understanding and not of conflict.”

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Avian Flu Results in the Death of a Five Year Old Cambodian Girl

An announcement made by the World Health Organization on Wednesday has informed that the dreaded bird flu has resulted in the death of a girl. The deceased has been identified as a five-year old girl from the African country of Cambodia. The death is the first fatality caused by the virus, since the last fatality, which was reported in the beginning of 2010.

The girl had fallen ill on the 30th of January in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. The girl was hospitalized immediately and was taken to a hospital with coughing and shortness of breath. Following the suffering, she breathed her last on the 4th of January.

A joint statement released by the Cambodian Government and the WHO has stated that the girl was receiving treatment in an ICU, but, died 12-hours after she was admitted because of complications that arose because of the illness. The girl has been identified as the 9th fatality caused by the virus since 2003 and is also the 11th Cambodian to be inflicted with the virus.

The Cambodian authorities have already started to look out for people, who might have been exposed to the virus and has started to take preventive measures among those identified.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Health Minister, Mam Bun Heng, has requested people with underlying ailments to seek medical help, if they have come in contact with a dead or sick poultry bird.

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2 die as Thai, Cambodian troops battle at border

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodian and Thai troops battled for two hours Friday along a disputed stretch of their shared border, trading artillery fire that killed at least two people near an 11th century temple that is a UN World Heritage Site.

The fighting was some of the fiercest in years between the two southeast Asian countries. Tensions between the neighbors have been exacerbated in recent days by pressure from powerful Thai nationalist groups, which have been staging protests in Bangkok urging the government to reclaim the land.

While a cease-fire was quickly reached and full-blown war unlikely, the territorial dispute remains volatile, with nationalist passions inflamed on both sides — and no clear way to settle it.

One Thai villager was killed and four Thai troops were slightly injured, Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. In Cambodia, privately owned Bayon TV reported that one Cambodian soldier was killed and five were wounded.

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Cambodian, Thai troops exchange gunfire at border area

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Clash between Cambodian and Thai troops near the 11th century temple was still on at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the Cambodian troops have arrested 5-6 Thai troops, said military sources.

"Now, we have arrested 5-6 Thai troops and some raised hands to defect," said a soldier standby at the area of Preah Vihear temple. "Thai side has asked us to do negotiation."

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told Xinhua through phone on Friday that "We have warned them not to enter our territory, but they still violated and entered, so we opened fire to defend our territory."

He added that heavy weapons including rockets, machine guns, mortars and artillery have been used in the exchange of fire.

"It's too early to report about the deaths and wounds in the clash," said Tea Banh.

The clash started at 3:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon as Thai bulldozers tried to clear the way at the border and enter Cambodia territory and Cambodian troops prevented them from moving into Cambodia at Beehive area in front of Preah Vihear temple, but they did not listen to, "so military clash happened to protect our territory," said the soldier.

The incident was the latest in a long-festering dispute over the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple.

The incident coincided with the visit of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Cambodia to attend the 7th meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.

The re-tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the border happened on Jan. 27 after Thailand asked Cambodia to remove a national flag over Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, claiming that the pagoda is on the disputed area, but the Cambodian side rejected it.

Cambodia has the Preah Vihear temple enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had border conflict over the Thai claim of ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

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Troops exchange fire on Thai-Cambodia border

Cambodia secured the World Heritage listing of the ancient Preah Vihear temple in 2008

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Thai and Cambodian soldiers have exchanged fire on a disputed stretch of their border near an ancient Hindu temple, claimed by both countries.

A Thai military spokesman confirmed that "sporadic shelling" had taken place in the disputed zone.

Tension has been rising in the region in recent days - with both sides moving in more troops.

It is the latest in a series of shooting incidents in the Preah Vihear region over the past three years.

A Cambodian government spokesman told the BBC that the shooting started at about 1500 local time (0800 GMT).

He blamed the encroachment of Thai soldiers on Cambodian territory for the fighting - and said a similar incident had only narrowly been avoided on Thursday.

Witnesses in the area said that Thai troops had attacked a Cambodian Buddhist pagoda in a border area claimed by both sides.

There has been tension in the region ever since Cambodia secured the World Heritage listing of the ancient Preah Vihear temple in 2008.

This caused joy in Cambodia, and anguish in Thailand - which once claimed the temple.

This week there has been a build-up of troops and armoured vehicles along the border, as both sides have accused one another of encroachment.

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Fighting breaks out between Thai and Cambodian troops (1st Lead)

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - The Thai military said Friday that Cambodian forces had fired artillery rounds into Thailand near Preah Vihear temple on the joint border, while the Cambodian side blamed Thai troops.

Thai radio reports said an estimated 20 shells landed on Thailand's side of the border in Kantalarak district in Si Sa Ket province, 350 kilometres east of Bangkok.

'We can confirm that there has been a clash, but we are still checking the details,' said army spokesman Colonel Sansern Keowkhamnerd.

The Thai army was reportedly bulldozing a road in the border area, which has been the subject of numerous spats over the past two and a half years.

A spokesman for the Cambodian government blamed fighting on Thai troops.

Phay Siphan claimed Thai soldiers had crossed 500 metres into Cambodian territory and opened fire despite the efforts of Cambodian troops to avoid violence.

He said fighting had begun at 3 pm (0800 GMT) and was ongoing more than an hour later.

Phay Siphan said fighting was underway near Keo Sikha Kirisvara temple, which Thailand claims stands on disputed territory.

There was no word on casualties.

Bangkok recently insisted that Cambodia remove a flag flying over the temple, a demand that Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong rejected earlier on Friday after a meeting with his Thai counterpart.

The clashes come hours after Hor Namhong and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya wrapped up a meeting stating that a recent build-up of troops would not lead to violence.

Thai and Cambodian forces have faced off along the mountain range around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple since July 2008, when UNESCO declared the edifice a World Heritage Site despite Thai objections.

Although the World Court in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, Thailand claims a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjacent to the temple, and has blocked Cambodian's efforts to turn the site into a tourism attraction until the border dispute is settled.

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