The lookout point Phu Chi Fa, located in the mountains at the border of Thailand and Laos, is now stopping visitors. The reason is a number of clashes in Laos where the country's military is said to have had conflicts with unidentified armed groups.
The US Embassy in Laos' capital Vientiane has simultaneously issued warnings and urges Americans planning to travel to the area to reconsider.
The state-owned Lao National Radio reports on Tuesday that border patrols clashed with drug smugglers in the province of Bokeo in northern Laos over the weekend. According to the radio, representatives of the border patrol are said to have been killed and four people are said to have been arrested.
From Thai authorities, it is reported that at least one soldier may have been killed and more than a dozen injured. A stray bullet is said to have hit a house on the Thai side of the border.
