Phnom Penh/Bangkok (dpa) - The Cambodian army was deployed

Wednesday to quell anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh, as 200 police

secured the Thai embassy compound and fire trucks began to douse

flames that destroyed the building and 20 embassy vehicles.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra threatened to send military

commandos to Phnom Penh Wednesday night, warning in a radio broadcast

that a military strike would come ''one hour from now'' if Cambodian

authorities failed to control the situation.

Mobs of youths attacked other Thai-affiliated buildings in the

city. ina crisis triggered by media reports quoting Thai actress

Suyanan Kongying as saying she hated Cambodia because it had stolen

Angkor Wat temple from her nation. Suyanan has reportedly denied ever

making the remarks.

A Thai Foreign Minister spokesman said the Thai ambassador in

Cambodia and his staff were safe at the home of the Thai military

attache in Phnom Penh. The only casualty mentioned in first reports

was a fire engine driver injured hit on the head by a rock.

Fires are reported in the street in front of the building that

houses Shinawatra telecom, the company owned by Thai Prime Minister

Thaksin. This building was nearly destroyed as well and youths were

seen tossing computers out of windows.

Students began their protest by marching through the city and

burned a Thai flag and a photograph of Suyanan outside the embassy.

The size of the demonstration swelled to around one thousand and

the crowd became more aggressive as the day progressed, burning tyres

and throwing rocks at the embassy. Several students managed to get

into the grounds and steal the embassy flag to set on fire.

Fire trucks came to disperse the crowd but left after ten minutes

when they were stoned by protestors.

Outnumbered police fired several shots into the air but were

ignored as furniture was thrown out of windows. Minutes later fires

were set in the building.

Cambodian mob storms Thai embassy

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) --Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has threatened to send in a commando unit to break up a violent siege at the Thai embassy in Cambodia.

Speaking to reporters, Shinawatra gave his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen an ultimatum to resolve the situation "otherwise Thailand will send a commando unit to Cambodia to rescue Thai nationals and to protect Thai sovereignty.

A mob of about 1,000 people laid siege on Wednesday to the Royal Thai embassy in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and set fire to a section of the complex as well as the ambassador's residence.

The protesters were demonstrating remarks attributed to a Thai TV star who was quoted as saying Cambodia stole the famous Angkor Wat temple from Thailand. The actress has denied making the comments.

The mob, armed with sticks and rocks, stormed through the embassy gates, easily overpowering about 50 policemen, and forced their way into the main building.

The ambassador and his staff managed to flee the premises through a back door and are reportedly uninjured.

A Thai C130 military aircraft was on standby for evacuations, Thaksin said, adding that the siege had caused Thai-Cambodian relations to sink to their worst ever level.

"This is the most terrible thing that can happen in a friendly country if Thai people have to escape from the backdoor of an embassy," Thaksin said.

The Thai foreign minister has advised Thai nationals living in Cambodia to prepare for possible evacuations.

The actress targeted in the protest, Suwanan Kongying, has denied making any remarks about the famous temple or Cambodia.

The alleged remarks, which were reportedly based on rumor or taken from dialogue from one of Kongying's characters, were reported in the Cambodian media over the past week.

The situation intensified when Hun Sen banned a Thai made television serial starring the actress earlier this week.

The Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia's north is the country's national symbol and formed the capital of the Khmer empire.

Historically, relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been rocky but have strengthened in recent years.

Find this article at:
http://asia.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/01/29/cambodia.siege

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