One Cambodian villager died and another was badly injured after they were shot by Thai soldiers on Tuesday while crossing illegally into Thailand from Oddar Meanchey province, local authorities said.
Six Cambodians were crossing the border with help from a broker to smuggle endangered rosewood, when Thai soldiers began firing at them, said Sao Buntheng, chief of Dan Tong village in Oddar Meanchey. Four of the smugglers escaped unharmed and made their way back home, but their two companions weren’t as lucky.
The dead man was identified as Ieth Oun, 31, from Anlong Veng district, while the injured man, identified as Dan Tong resident Hean Pol, 26, is still missing in the forest.
He was able to alert his wife to his plight by calling her on his mobile phone, Buntheng said. A search party of seven border soldiers and two villagers was dispatched to find him, but they have yet to return.
Touch Ra, deputy director of the Chaom Sagnam Cambodia-Thailand border checkpoint, said he heard about the case from villagers but has not received an official notice from Thai authorities.
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