PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Thai and Cambodian troops fought heavy gunbattles on their disputed border Friday, leaving at least two soldiers dead in the biggest flare-up for months in a bitter feud over an ancient temple. Soldiers exchanged rocket, machinegun and mortar fire near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the frontier, following a brief skirmish earlier in the day, officials from both sides said. The area was the scene of several clashes last year after Cambodia successfully applied for United Nations world heritage status for the ruins in July, with four soldiers killed in a battle there in October. One Thai soldier died at the site of the clash on Friday and another passed away in hospital later, while 10 others were injured, regional Thai military spokesman Lt-Col Wichit Makarun said. Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith initially announced that two soldiers from his country were killed, but later retracted the statement, saying it was an unofficial figure but without providing further details. We are fighting with each other, it is serious gunfire, Khieu Kanharith said, adding that the fighting happened in at least two separate areas near the temple. Military commanders later held talks to ease tensions near the clifftop temple, ownership of which was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, although the land around the ruins remains disputed. But a war of words continued between the two sides after the clash, coming just one week before the prime ministers of the neighbouring countries are due to meet at a key regional summit in Thailand. This is an intended aggressive invasion by the Thai military, said Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong. The Foreign Ministry will... write a protest letter about the invasion by Thailand. Thai Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was ready to call his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen about the matter but defended Bangkoks right to preserve our sovereignty. It was likely caused by a misunderstanding or accident, Abhisit said on his return from the G20 summit in London. The first clash erupted on Friday morning after Cambodian soldiers went to inspect an area where a Thai soldier lost a leg in a landmine blast a day earlier. Both sides blamed each other but said there were no casualties. Heavy gunfire then broke out at 2:00 pm (0700 GMT) in a number of spots near the border, which has never been fully demarcated due to landmines left after decades of war in Cambodia. Several officials said the fighting lasted between half and hour and an hour. A Cambodian soldier posted at the border, Yeim Kheang, told AFP by telephone that a Cambodian market at the gateway to the temple had been badly burned. We used heavy weapons including rockets, machineguns and mortars. In general, we used every weapon given to us. Many Thai soldiers ran away, leaving their weapons behind during the fight, Yeim Kheang said.