Thais Battle Viet Troops Pursuing Cambodian Rebels
Thai troops backed by artillery fought Wednesday to push back Vietnamese soldiers who crossed Thailand’s border with Cambodia in pursuit of guerrillas, military officers said.
They also told reporters that 30,000 Cambodian refugees in Thai territory close to the fighting were evacuated to safer areas two days ago.
About 400 Vietnamese troops were reported to have crossed the frontier 210 miles northeast of Bangkok last Friday. The latest thrust, about a mile from Camp David, a refugee site, came barely three weeks after Thailand said that in two weeks of fighting, it had driven back the last of up to 1,200 Vietnamese troops who had crossed the frontier from Cambodia.
One Western diplomat said he expects regular “hot-pursuit incursions” because Hanoi is determined to seal the frontier to prevent guerrilla infiltration.
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