Landmines block Thai military from securing temple site

Bangkok Post

3 days ago

A field of unexpected and illegally laid landmines blocked Thai soldiers from securing the Ta Kwai temple ruins in Surin province before the ceasefire with Cambodia took effect, according to the Royal Thai Army.
The area in Phanom Dong Rak district was the last spot being contested by Thai and Cambodian forces before the agreement to withdraw troops took effect at 12am on Tuesday, spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree told a press conference at army headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday.
According to Maj Gen Winthai, Thai soldiers had not been deployed at the Ta Kwai ruins because they could have been easy targets for Cambodian troops on the nearby and taller Hill 350.
In the evening before the ceasefire took effect, Thai soldiers tried to take control of both the Ta Kwai site and Hill 350 but did not expect to face landmines that were laid around the ancient temple.
One army officer was seriously injured when a landmine exploded during the attempt, and the military had to weigh the prospects for completing the military operation against the effects on soldiers' morale, Maj Gen Winthai said.
'The injury from the landmine field had an impact on our last attempt to advance,' he added.
When the ceasefire took effect, Thai soldiers did not have control of the temple but they occupied more areas than they had done before the border clashes.
The area now under Thai control includes land adjacent to the temple ruins, but Thai soldiers could do nothing when Cambodian soldiers entered the ruins themselves, Maj Gen Winthai said.
He said it was evident that landmines were used in the Ta Kwai area, in violation of the Ottawa Treaty which bans anti-personnel mines, the army spokesman said.
Pictures of Cambodian soldiers at Ta Kwai showed bunches of Russian-made PMN-2 landmines left at the temple ruins, indicating that a large number were used, he added.