Thailand foreign ministry dismissed information that the military used poisonous gas in clashes on the border with Cambodia, the Bangkok Post said on Sunday.
On Saturday, Cambodia’s defense ministry said Thailand had fired 75mm and 105mm shells “loaded with poisonous gas” into the territory of Cambodia, and Thai aircraft flew in its airspace. A Cambodian field commander was quoted by the media as saying that Thai forces also used cluster munitions.
“I’d like to categorically deny that the Thai military has used any kind of aircraft,” Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said. “What they said about us using poisonous gas was not true either.”
Clashes on the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia intensified on Friday, leaving four Thai and three Cambodian servicemen dead. By Sunday, the conflict left up to 10 soldiers from both sides dead, according to Bangkok Post figures.
Border conflicts between the two states over the ownership of the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple that began a century ago resumed in 2010-2011. The two neighbors fought a four-day war near the temple this February, and a ceasefire has been in place since March.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been demarcated in detail.
The Preah Vihear temple was awarded to Cambodia in a 1962 ruling by the World Court, but issue of sovereignty over the adjacent land was not resolved and remains a point of contention between the Southeast Asian neighbors.
MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti)