Burapha Task Force’s ordnance disposal team uncovered two more anti-personnel landmines today, in Ban Nong Ya Kaew of Khok Sung district in Sa Kaeo province.
The mines, one MN79 and a PMN type, were in full working condition.
The task force reports that its disposal team has, to date, uncovered seven anti-personnel mines in the border village, since it unilaterally began mine clearance last Friday.
The task force had notified its Cambodian counterpart in advance of its action, undertaken for the safety of its troops and Thai civilians, but the Cambodian troops opposed the operation, claiming that it contravenes the spirit of the ceasefire agreement signed between the two countries in Malaysia in late July.
The task force also said that its border force captured Cambodian civilians, including 15 women and 22 men, after they illegally crossed the border from Cambodian border town of Poipet into Bang Ang Sila in Thailand’s Khon Sung district, reportedly to seek jobs.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Cambodians said they left Thailand about two months ago, at the urging of the Cambodian government, with promise of jobs, but soon discovered that there were none.
They added that they had hoped to return to their original jobs with their former Thai employers.
The group was taken to Khok Sung district police station for detention, pending trial on charges of illegal entry.
Today, Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, the commissioner-general of the Thai police, visited officers deployed in Bang Nong Chan village, also in Sa Kaeo province to enforce eviction of illegal Cambodian settlers, to offer them moral support.
