Thai forest rangers have shootout with Cambodian lumberjacks at Northern Thailand with Cambodia

[geovalin]

Thai army-trained rangers and forestry officials exchanged gunfire with a group of Cambodian lumberjacks in a border area of northeastern Thailand, a government official said. Five Cambodians, two of whom were suspected as army soldiers, had allegedly trespassed Thai territory and poached for timber in Huay Sala wildlife sanctuary in Phu Sing district of Sisaket province, according to Sathit Phanthumat, head of the sanctuary Thursday.

 

A Thai army officer, namely Lt. Sivathep Boonlom, was injured during the shoot-out which took place Wedesday, which briefly occurred in Thai territory about 200 meters from the Thai-Cambodian border, Sathit said.

 

The Thai authorities arrested one of the five Cambodians and seized an AK-47 rifle, a chainsaw and 35 pieces of ironwood, allegedly cut by the Cambodians from the felled trees in the sanctuary area, he said.

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50778371/thai-forest-rangers-have-shootout-with-cambodian-lumberjacks-at-northern-thailand-with-cambodia/

[CorpusChristie]

Just hope that the Thai Army were on the right side of the border this time , I recall recently when the Thai Army arrested some Cambodians for logging , only to be told that the Thai Army were actually in Cambodia and they quickly retreated back over to the Thai side of the border ????

[hotchilli]

If you go down to the woods today be ready for a big surprise.

[Burma Bill]

This area of Northern Cambodia and North Eastern Thailand has been disputed territory for many years. For reference (wikipedia):-

 

The Cambodian–Thai border dispute began in June 2008 as the latest round of a century-long dispute between Cambodia and Thailand involving the area surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple, in the Dângrêk Mountains between the Choam Khsant district in the Preah Vihear Province of northern Cambodia and the Kantharalak district (amphoe) in Sisaket Province of northeastern Thailand.

According to the Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations, the most recent dispute began on 15 July 2008 when about 50 Thai soldiers moved into the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda vicinity which he claims is located in Cambodia's territory about 300 metres (980 ft) from the Temple of Preah Vihear.^[7] Thailand claims the demarcation has not yet been completed for the external parts of the area adjacent to the temple, which was adjudged to be Cambodian by a nine to three decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962.^[8] By August 2008, the dispute had expanded to the 13th century Ta Moan temple complex 153 kilometres (95 mi) west of Preah Vihear (14°20′57″N 103°15′59″E), where Cambodia has accused Thai troops of occupying a temple complex it claims is on Cambodian land. The Thai foreign ministry denied that any troops had moved into that area until several were killed in an encounter in April 2011.^[9][10] An agreement was reached in December 2011 to withdraw troops from the disputed area.^[11]

On 11 November 2013, the ICJ declared in a unanimous decision that the 1962 ICJ judgment had awarded all of the promontory of Preah Vihear to Cambodia and that Thailand had an obligation to withdraw any Thai military, police, or guard forces stationed in that area.^[1] However, it rejected Cambodia's argument that the judgment had also awarded the hill of Phnom Trap (three kilometers northwest of the temple) to Cambodia, finding that it had made no ruling on sovereignty over the hill.

 

 

[Red Forever]

There was heavy artillery raining down on us in Buriram in 2008/9 too.

[unblocktheplanet]

'Bout time they got after ancient forest rapists. No teak or rosewood left in Thailand. How do we incentivise our neighbours not to log?