'Red Shirts were not trained here,' says Cambodia

Cambodia has denied that members of the anti-government "Red Shirt" movement from neighbouring Thailand were trained at a Cambodian army base to assassinate Thai leaders, including the Prime Minister.

Lieutenant-Colonel Payao Thongsen, a senior investigator for Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, alleged on Monday that 11 men arrested last week in northern Chiang Mai province were among 39 given ideological and combat training in a "neighbouring country", providing details that made clear that it was Cambodia.

However, Khieu Kanharith, a spokesman for the Phnom Penh regime, said: "Cambodia strongly rejects these allegations."

The Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said he would not take action until receiving advice from his security agency. Cambodia's relations with her neighbour have been contentious for years.