An Interior Ministry report reveals that Thai police shot less than half as many Cambodians in 2015 as they did in 2014, said The Phnom Penh Post.

According to the report, 14 Cambodians were shot while encroaching into Thai territory, with five killed and nine injured last year, down from 25 shot, nine fatally, in 2014. Both years’ figures were a drastic reduction from 2013, when 69 were killed, prompting Phnom Penh to send a letter to Bangkok “calling on Thai soldiers to stop shooting”.

Or Yong, deputy chief of border post 807 in Banteay Meanchey province, where many of those shot cross into Thailand, said Thai authorities never shot Cambodians for merely crossing the border illegally. The victims were always suspected of greater criminality, he said.

Those shot are mostly looking for rosewood to sell to Cambodian military officials for about $50 a plank. In China the precious wood garners prices as high as $25,000 per cubic metre.

Am Sam Ath, a senior coordinator at rights group Licadho, called the Thai shootings an inexcusable violation of international human rights law.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sarath Komsoth said the government did its best to have Cambodians who were shot or arrested while logging repatriated, and had pleaded with Bangkok not to kill Cambodians over lumber.

Thai border shootings down - Thai PBS English News