Clash at Thai-Cambodian border

Cambodian and Thai troops exchanged heavy weapons fire for the third straight day Sunday, officials from both countries said, after clashes on their joint border left 10 dead.Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee the disputed jungle frontier after fighting broke out on Friday, shattering a tense two-month ceasefire.

A Cambodian field commander, Suos Sothea, said the fighting started at about 10:00 am local time (0300GMT) and both sides were firing mortars. "What we can confirm is it involves artillery shell fire," he said.

A Thai official at the border also confirmed the resumption of hostilities and said "Cambodia opened fire first".UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the neighbours should "exercise maximum restraint" and urged the pair to launch "serious dialogue" in order to resolve the issue Saturday.

Six Cambodian troops and four Thai soldiers have been killed since clashes restarted on Friday.Heavy shelling was clearly audible 20 kilometres (12 miles) away from the scene of the fighting on the Cambodian side as those evacuated from their homes took refuge in schools and temples away from the clash.

Both countries have accused each other of sparking the violence, which is the first serious outbreak of fighting since February, when 10 people were killed in clashes near the 900-year-old Hindu temple Preah Vihear. The latest clashes, which saw several hours of fighting on both sides Friday and Saturday, have taken place near a different group of temples more than 100 kilometres away from Preah Vihear.Thailand has denied claims by its neighbour that it used "heavy guns loaded with poisonous gas" and flew aircraft "deep into Cambodia's airspace".

The country recently admitted using controversial Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions during the February fighting but insisted it did not classify them as cluster munitions."When there is firing into Thailand, we need to fire back to protect over sovereignty," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday in his weekly television programme. He said Thailand was willing to hold bilateral talks and accused Cambodia of trying to "internationalise" the conflict.