Cambodia claims 200 Thai troops have crossed border
Updated
A Cambodian government official says more than 200 Thai troops have crossed the border into Cambodia, near an ancient temple at the centre of a territorial dispute.
Thailand denies the incursion and insists the soldiers are patrolling on its side of the border.
Cambodia also has hundreds of troops in the area.
The head of the Cambodian government agency running the Preah Vihear temple, says officials are discussing ways to end the stand-off.
But the governor of the Thai province that borders the temple says all Thai soldiers have been withdrawn from the disputed area.
Cambodian officials claim soldiers began crossing the border on Tuesday after three Thai protesters were arrested for jumping an immigration checkpoint to reach the temple.
In Bangkok, the Thai army commander, General Anupong Paojinda, says he has ordered the troops to refrain from using force and says the two countries should settle their differences through talks.
Heightened tensions
The dispute comes amid heightened political tensions in both countries, after the UN cultural agency UNESCO awarded the temple World Heritage status earlier this month.
Cambodia is preparing for general elections on July 27, when Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to extend his decades-long grip on power.
He has portrayed the UN recognition of the ruins as a national triumph, organising huge public celebrations.
In Thailand, critics of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej - who was already the target of street protests - have stoked the temple controversy to fire up nationalist sentiment.
Prime Minister Samak's government had originally signed a deal supporting Cambodia's bid to make the ruins a World Heritage site, but a court overturned the pact, forcing the resignation of foreign minister Noppadon Pattama.
The parliamentary opposition is now mulling impeachment motions against the entire cabinet.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia, but the exact border around the ruins remains in dispute, with the main compound lying inside Cambodia but the most accessible entrance at the foot of a mountain in Thailand.
