Cambodian activists scuffle with Vietnamese security personnel, villagers near disputed border

Some 300 Cambodian activists led by an opposition lawmaker scuffled with Vietnamese security personnel and villagers Sunday afternoon while they attempted to reach a disputed border area along Cambodia's Svay Rieng province border with Vietnam, local media reported, citing a local police chief and an opposition official.

Hem Samuth, police chief of Kampong Ro district, said the short skirmish happened at about 3:00 p.m. (local time).

"Some 300 people led by (a lawmaker from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party) Real Khemarin scuffled with about 300 Vietnamese villagers, policemen and soldiers while they tried to approach a disputed border area," a well-known Khmer website, DAP News, quoted him as saying.

According to the website, Real Khemarin's aide Tep Narin said about 100 Vietnamese villagers, armed with wooden clubs and accompanied by Vietnamese policemen and soldiers, attacked Real Khemarin and other activists, leaving at least 10 people injured.

It was the second scuffle between the peoples of the two countries. The first one occurred on May 31 at a disputed border area along Cambodia's Tboung Khmum province border with Vietnam, but no one was injured at that time.

Cambodia shares a 1,270-km border in the east with Vietnam.

Row in some areas along the Cambodia-Vietnam border began in recent months after Cambodia said it has found that Vietnamese authorities had dug eight ponds deeply inside northeast Cambodian territory in Ratanakiri province and constructed a military post at a non-demarcated border area between Cambodia's Kandal province and Vietnam's An Giang province.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent three diplomatic notes to the Vietnamese government this month in order to urge Vietnam to respect the borderline. Endi