Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December 29, 2013

900-yr-old Hindu temple that nearly started a war

The United Nation’s International Court of Justice  ruled on Monday that Cambodia should have sovereignty over the disputed land around the 900-year-old Preah Vihear Temple bordering Thailand. The ICJ also ruled that Thailand should at once withdraw its troops from the area,  BBC  reported. “A 1962 verdict by the court declared the temple to be Cambodian, but did not rule on the area around it. Cambodia sought a clarification of the ruling two years ago, after fighting erupted,” the report added. Preah Vihear, which was built during the  Khmer Empire , is set atop a cliff in the  Dangrek Mountains . The ancient temple is among several stretches of the border where sporadic gun and artillery clashes have erupted between Thai and Cambodia troops. Each side has blamed the other for starting the fights, which have caused nationalist outcries in both countries. The construction of the first temple on the site began in the early 9th century; bot...