BANGKOK: Thailand's army said it exchanged fire with Cambodian forces along their border on Tuesday (Feb 24), accusing its neighbour of violating a December truce.
Cambodian forces "fired a single 40 mm grenade round" near a Thai patrol in the border province of Sisaket on Tuesday morning, prompting return fire, according to a Thai army statement.
No Thai personnel were injured, the army said.
"Following the incident, Thai forces responded by firing an M79 (grenade launcher) in the direction from which the shot originated, in accordance with the rules of engagement, as a warning and for self-defence," it added.
Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in the statement that "Cambodia's actions violated the ceasefire agreement", which ended three weeks of deadly border clashes in late December.
"Preliminary assessment suggests the incident may have resulted from a rotation of Cambodian troops, with new personnel lacking familiarity with regulations and command control, leading to operational shortcomings," the statement said.
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata declined to answer questions from AFP about the alleged incident.
The countries' century-old border conflict stems from a dispute over the French colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier.
The dispute erupted into several rounds of clashes last year, killing dozens of people, including soldiers and civilians, and displacing more than a million in July and December. - AFP
