New skirmishes on Thai-Cambodian border

Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire on their disputed border for a ninth straight day yesterday, both sides said, casting doubt on efforts to end the countries' bloodiest conflict in decades.
The latest hostilities at two ancient temples on their shared jungle frontier erupted just hours after Cambodia announced a second truce in as many days, although Bangkok denied knowledge of a new peace deal.
Each side has traded accusations of untrustworthiness in solving a dispute that has killed 16 people and displaced more than 85,000 civilians.
"Even though there is a recent ceasefire... Thailand still breached it," Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh yesterday.
"It shows that we cannot trust our counterpart," he said in comments that echoed those made by Thai officials a day earlier.
The latest flare-up was confirmed by both countries, but while it was followed by a lull in fighting, frontline soldiers remained on alert.
"Clashes could happen at any time," Cambodian field commander Suos Sothea told AFP by telephone.
There were no reports of new deaths, although at least 10 Thai soldiers were injured in clashes on Friday night and yesterday morning, army sources in Thailand said.
Cambodia's defence ministry accused Thailand in a statement of using grenades and firing mortar rounds at Cambodian troops in the latest clashes.
The two neighbours have come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence.
A first attempted truce on Thursday, confirmed by the two countries, proved short-lived and Bangkok has contradicted Phnom Penh's latest claims, saying Friday's talks between commanders on the ground did not amount to a genuine breakthrough.
"We actually have talked at local officers' level which I hope will lead to a real ceasefire," said Thailand's government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.
Hor Namhong returned yesterday from The Hague where he had submitted a request to the World Court to clarify a 1962 ruling about land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple -- an area that has inflamed tensions between the two neighbours.
"The request for the interpretation by the court is a way to resolve the problem peacefully," he said at Phnom Penh airport.