Clashes continue between Thailand and Cambodia

Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight day today over a disputed border area
surrounding a 900-year-old mountaintop temple as Cambodia urged the U.N. Security Council to intervene.
Shelling and machinegun fire resounded this morning in the contested area around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple which is claimed by both Southeast Asian neighbours Thailand and Cambodia.

The clashes which have reportedly killed at least 5 people in this rugged area over the weekend were reminiscent of the violence that ensured in 2008 when Cambodia wanted to list the Hindu ruins as a World Heritage Site.

Responding to these latest clashes Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on the UN Security Council to convene an urgent meeting, accusing Thailand of "repeated acts of aggression".

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was "deeply concerned" and urged both sides to cease fire and find a "lasting solution" to the dispute.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 awarded the temple to Cambodia, but the ruling did not determine ownership of the area next to it which is at the heart of the dispute. Listen to Lydia O’Kane's report.