 |
Thai, Myanmar Officials Hold Talks on Border Conflicts
Thai and Myanmar officials on Thursday held talks on the settlement of recent conflicts along their northern common border.
Negotiations at local level began at around 9:30 a.m. (230 GMT) at the Golden Triangle Hotel in Ta Khi Lek province of Myanmar, and were then continued at the District Hall of Mae Sai, in Thai northernmost province of Chiang Rai, about 1,000 kilometers north of Bangkok, according to Thai News Agency.
However, the talks had yet come to a concluded settlement until now, as the two sides demanded for compensation from each other for casualties and damages caused by recent conflicts.
The Rangoon side said that shellfire storming across the border into the Thai soil early this week were shot by armed ethnic Thai Yai rebels in the Shan State, not by its government troops.
It also said that shellfire shot by Thai troops across the border in response to the attack killed three Myanmar civilians, and damaged two cars and two markets, which have to be compensated.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in Myanmar Ambassador to Thailand U Hla Maung to receive a letter of protest to Rangoon over the intrusion of Myanmar forces into the Thai soil over last weekend, which is considered violation of the Thai sovereignty and led to a clash with Thai troops, eight of them were then injured.
The ministry also lodged a demand to the Myanmar government, including calls for compensation from Rangoon for the loss of lives and properties of Thai civilians, and moves for quick solutions of the problems.
Shellfire falling across the border into the Thai soil killed three Thai villagers, injured seven others and damaged 12 houses, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Meanwhile, radio news reports said that Thai Armed Forces Chief Sampao Chusri called a special meeting Thursday with top brass and police officers, to discuss the current border problems with Myanmar.
In This Section
|