Border confusion as Thailand shuts land crossings with Cambodia

DOZENS of tourists and workers, some carrying children, were left stranded yesterday at Thailand’s main land crossing with Cambodia, after the army stopped almost all border traffic in an escalating territorial dispute.

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Thailand has closed crossing points in all seven border provinces to everyone except students and those seeking medical treatment, after a long-running row erupted into military clashes last month in which a Cambodian soldier was killed.

There was confusion at the Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province - the main crossing for people travelling overland to Cambodia's Siem Reap, where the Angkor Wat complex is located. Around 50 Cambodian workers, mostly vendors who regularly cross into Thailand for trade, found themselves stuck at the checkpoint, unable to return home.