Successful talks between Thai and Cambodian officials prompted the reopening of two border crossings, two weeks after they were closed amid armed clashes between the armies.
Fighting erupted on April 22 around the Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples. Three districts in Thailand’s Northeast—Phanom Dong Rak, Kab Choeng, and Prasat—were declared disaster zones. Red Cross officials report that about 60,000 people have been displaced in the fighting and that there have been over a dozen deaths.
The dispute involves competing claims of ownership over the ancient temples ruins, similar to the deadly clashes in February at Preah Vihear temple, 125 miles away.
The reopened crossings are busy trade routes for local sellers. One fruit seller, Niyom Chiakaeo, told the Bangkok Post that he had not been able to make an income while the border was shut and his family would have starved if it had stayed closed much longer. “If the governments want to close the checkpoint, do it permanently or they should open it forever,” he said.
Fighting erupted on April 22 around the Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples. Three districts in Thailand’s Northeast—Phanom Dong Rak, Kab Choeng, and Prasat—were declared disaster zones. Red Cross officials report that about 60,000 people have been displaced in the fighting and that there have been over a dozen deaths.
The dispute involves competing claims of ownership over the ancient temples ruins, similar to the deadly clashes in February at Preah Vihear temple, 125 miles away.
The reopened crossings are busy trade routes for local sellers. One fruit seller, Niyom Chiakaeo, told the Bangkok Post that he had not been able to make an income while the border was shut and his family would have starved if it had stayed closed much longer. “If the governments want to close the checkpoint, do it permanently or they should open it forever,” he said.
