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Khao Pra Viharn: Thais living along the border with Cambodia began evacuation and weapon drills yesterday, fearing clashes between troops of the two countries if talks to resolve a land dispute fail.
But Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said tension would ease after a general election in Cambodia on Sunday, playing down Phnom Penh's diplomatic offensive and its plea for United Nations mediation.
"After the elections, they will soften their stance and talks will be easier," Samak told reporters in Bangkok, two days after talks between senior defence officials to end the dispute failed.
"Everything has been done for the July 27 poll and I need to keep quiet so as not to discredit Prime Minister Hun Sen," Samak said.
At the heart of the dispute is the Preah Vihear temple, perched on a disputed border where troops faced off for a ninth day on yesterday.
Local Thai authorities near the temple braced for the worst, arming defence volunteers with shotguns and giving people training on how to guard their villages if violence erupted.
"We hope there won't be any violence, but we can't be complacent," said Prasert Aramsriworapong, head of the town hall in Kantaralak, near where the 900-year-old temple is located."If it does happen, people won't panic."
If fighting erupted, up to 4,000 villagers living along the border might have to be evacuated, he said.
Villagers living near the temple, known in Thai as Khao Pra Viharn, have started renovating bunkers used in the 1980s during fighting between Khmer Rouge guerrillas and Cambodian government troops.
"We have nowhere to move to and we don't want Cambodian infiltrators," said a village guard.
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