PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - Cambodia has closed its border with Thailand at the disputed Preah Vihear temple after a group of Thai protesters rallied near the ruins, an official said on Tuesday.

Senior Minister Var Kimhong, chairman of the Cambodian government's border committee, said the border crossing was closed on Sunday evening when a group of Thai protesters rallied near the checkpoint.

'The reason is Thai protesters demonstrated near the gate to the temple and authorities feared that something could happen to visitors to Preah Vihear temple,' Mr Kimhong said, adding he did not know when the crossing would reopen.

The protesters rallied against a decision last week by Thailand's cabinet to give Cambodia the green light to apply for the Preah Vihear temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

The deal has sparked claims that Thailand would lose territory to Cambodia around the small but emotive site.

Cambodia's attempt last year to have the ancient Hindu site, perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border, listed by the UN's cultural body UNESCO failed, with rumours that Thailand had blocked the deal.

Cambodia began seeking World Heritage status for Preah Vihear nearly six years ago, but the temple has long plagued Thai-Cambodian relations.

Both countries have historically laid claim to the site, which sits on Cambodian soil but can only be easily accessed from Thailand.

Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk took Thailand to the World Court in 1962 over the two countries' claim to Preah Vihear.

The court ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

A spat in 2003 over Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple - the most significant symbol of the country's ancient Khmer empire - sparked a night of riots that saw Thailand's embassy and several Thai-owned businesses burned and looted. -- AFP