UN chief calls for ending Cambodia, Thailand hostilities

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked Cambodia and Thailand to make “an effective arrangement” to end hostilities and “exercise maximum restraint”.

“The secretary-general is deeply concerned by reports of repeated armed clashes…between Cambodia and Thailand around their common border area, which has reportedly claimed a number of lives and led to the displacement of civilians and destruction of property,” Xinhua quoted Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman as saying in a statement Sunday.

“The secretary-general appeals to both sides to put in place an effective arrangement for cessation of hostilities and to exercise maximum restraint,” the statement said.

Ban “also calls on them to continue their efforts to finding a lasting solution to their dispute through established mechanisms and arrangements and a spirit of dialogue and good neighbourly relations”, the statement said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen Sunday night sent a letter to the UN Security Council requesting to convene an urgent meeting to stop Thai invasion into Cambodian territory.

This is the latest round of crossfire for the last three days between the two troops near Preah Vihear, an 11th-century temple around which a 4.6 square km land was claimed by both countries.

A soldier was killed and four others injured from Thai side in Saturday’s fighting, according to the Thai government, before the two sides agreed on a ceasefire later on the day.