CAMBODIA evacuated hundreds of people from a village near its disputed border with Thailand today, the day after one of the residents was reportedly killed in a spate of cross-border gunfire.

Two days before that, a Thai soldier had lost a foot to a land mine while patrolling another area of the border. 

Thailand blamed Cambodia for the blast and announced that it was suspending its observance of the terms of a ceasefire.

Territorial disputes over exactly where the border lies led to five days of armed conflict in late July that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. Though the violence ended, tensions remained high. 

The victim of Wednesday’s shooting was identified as Dy Nai. Three other people were wounded.

About 250 families from the village where the shooting took place —  Prey Chan, in Cambodia’s north-west province of Banteay Meanchey — were evacuated to a Buddhist temple about 18 miles from the border, said provincial Vice-Governor Ly Sovannarith.

The Cambodian Defence Ministry led members of a team assigned to monitor the ceasefire as they visited the border today. 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called on Wednesday for an independent investigation into the incident.

Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the truce, which Cambodia denied.