Several hundred Cambodian troops who were reinforcing frontline forces stationed near to the Preah Vihear temple have pulled out, a military report said yesterday.

An International Court of Justice decision handed down on July 18 ruled that both Cambodian and Thai forces must withdraw from a provisional demilitarised zone around the temple to make way for observers from ASEAN chair country, Indonesia.

Chan Punloek, an assistant to Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander in Preah Vihear, Chea Tara, stressed in the report, the troops were not stationed in the DMZ and were merely finishing a routine deployment.

“The withdrawal comes after they had just finished a reinforcement for an intervention mission and it is standard for the RCAF,” Punloek wrote in his report.

“All military personnel would be reinforced immediately for the protection of our country’s territorial sovereignty against any invasion by the enemy.”

The withdrawal was in accordance with an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen, the report read.