Thai soldier loses leg in landmine blast on Thai-Cambodian border in Surin

A Thai soldier lost a leg this morning when he stepped on an anti-personnel landmine, believed to have been laid by Cambodian forces, while patrolling on Thai territory near the Ta Muen Thom ancient temple in Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin province.

The Thai Army reported that a para-military ranger team, led by Sgt Thiraphol Piakanthee, was assigned to conduct a patrol from its base at Joop Ta Mok, in the western part of Ta Muen Thom temple.

The team was patrolling the barbed-wire fence, erected on Thai soil, when Sgt Thiraphol stepped on a landmine, triggering an explosion which blew one of this legs off. His teammates escaped unhurt.

The Thai Army said that the patrol route had already been cleared of landmines by a bomb disposal unit, after Thai forces had driven Cambodian troops from the temple during the five-day battle in late July. The approach to the temple was then fenced off with barbed wire, to prevent Cambodians from accessing the temple.

The army said it is suspected that the anti-personnel landmine had been freshly laid by intruding Cambodian soldiers.

On August 9th, a Thai soldier lost a foot and two others were injured in a landmine explosion in the Phu Makua area of Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province. The incident prompted the Thai Foreign Ministry to condemn the Cambodian government for violating both the ceasefire agreement and the Ottawa Convention, prohibiting the use of anti-personnel landmines.