Chong Jom border point in Surin closed following Thai & Cambodian troops clashes

Chong Jom border point in Surin closed following Thai & Cambodian troops clashes; private sector urges both countries to stop fighting as trade, investment affected

-- TNA 2011-02-05

Not good.

A friend of mine needs to go to Poipet the day after tomorrow for a new visa. Any chance of that border crossing also getting closed or perhaps that the Thai Embassy in PP won't be processing visas?

A friend of mine needs to go to Poipet the day after tomorrow for a new visa. Any chance of that border crossing also getting closed or perhaps that the Thai Embassy in PP won't be processing visas?

It's a very a fluid situation at the moment. Start looking for plan B and C.

We now got this unconfirmed report:

Chong Jom checkpoint in Surin is being reopened, a positive sign after a high-level military talk btw 2 countries via @news1005fm

Thailand closes off Chongsa-ngum border checkpoint in Si Sa Ket province; 30 Thai tourists stuck in Cambodia /TAN Network

Anyone knows about the situation at the other checkpoints like Aranyaprathet/Poipet, Hadlek/Koh Kong/?

Thanks in advance

Tom

Seems so far over, as not been reported closed and it only seems a local situation, not along the whole border. But in tense situations like this that can change in a matter of minutes.

Poipet border quiet

By The Nation.

Ban Khlong Leuk border checkpoint and the nearby Rong Kleu market in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet district were quieter than usual yesterday, as most Thai tourists cancelled tours to Cambodia

While the border was not closed, only 200 or so Cambodian workers and business people waited for the checkpoint to open at 7am yesterday, compared to the usual 8,000 people on normal weekdays and up to 10,000 on weekends. Some Cambodian vendors said they went to check on their merchandise at the market as they weren't sure about the border situation and wanted to be ready to move back to Cam-bodia if the conflict escalated.

Meanwhile, the number of Thai tourists to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in Siem Reap province - usually 800-1,000 people per day - dropped to about 100 and many Thai gamblers suspended trips to casinos in Poi Pet out of fear that the conflict might escalate and the border would be closed.

-- The Nation 2011-02-06