BANGKOK. March 8 – Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha stood firm today that the landmines on the common border with Cambodia in Thailand’s northeastern Surin province, which exploded and wounded three Thai rangers on Tuesday, were not planted by the Thai authorities.
He said the 2nd Army Region Command was instructed to protest to Cambodia for the landmines.
Ranger from Suranaree Task Force were seriously wounded after stepping on the landmines in Chong Kana, in Surin’s Panom Dongrak district, near Marker 21 on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The army chief said he has instructed military personnel in risk-prone border areas to be on alert and more careful in carrying out their duties.
China’s official Xinhua news agency reported Cambodia’s Defence Ministry issued a statement to dismiss Thailand’s allegation that the country has planted landmines at border areas, saying that the accusation is”false and groundless”
“The allegation of Thai army deputy spokesman Winthai Suwaree on Cambodia is groundless and false and it could cause confusion and affect the cooperative efforts of the two governments and armies in maintaining peace along the Cambodian-Thai border,” Xinhua quoted the statement of the ministry spokesman as saying.
