Cambodia and Thailand withdrew their army troops today from a disputed border area near an ancient temple, as the Southeast Asian neighbours try to defuse a decades-long dispute that has turned deadly in recent years.
Some 485 Cambodian troops and an undisclosed number of Thai forces pulled back from a demilitarised zone near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, complying with a ruling last year by the International Court of Justice. The court had awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, and while Thailand accepts that decision, both countries lay claim to land around it.
The dispute has led to several rounds of armed conflict in the past four years. Eighteen people were killed in the last serious fighting in April last year.
In July 2011, the court responded to an appeal from Cambodia by ordering both countries to withdraw their troops completely and simultaneously from the 6.7 square mile provisional demilitarised zone around the temple. Following the withdrawal of their army troops, both countries are now deploying police forces in the demilitarised zone.
Cambodian troops smiled and waved to a cheering crowd today after they took part in a withdrawal ceremony and carried their arms to military trucks that took them away from the site.
Cambodia’s deputy defence minister, Gen Neang Phath, said 255 police have been stationed in the demilitarised zone and another 100 on the grounds of the temple, which is recognised by the United Nations as a World Heritage site. Tensions over the border have eased in the past year with the installation of a new Thai government that is more sympathetic to Cambodia.