Laos' detention of Thai officials is misunderstanding : army chief

"Maybe Laos suspected our officials were some how involved with their domestic affairs, so they detained them. It's possible that there was some misunderstanding," he said.

Boonsang said the army has provided the Laos government with official explanation explain the circumstances behind the "misunderstanding".

Nan Governor Somphong Anuyuthaphong said on Wednesday that Laos is detaining seven Thai rangers and a village head who crossed the border into Xayabouly during a patrol on Tuesday night.

    Boonsang said misunderstanding can happen because "there are many groups of people along the border".

ThaiLaos border has long been a sensitive areas with a pockets and areas remained undemarcated. Moreover, a number of attacks, including antiVientiane activities, have been launched from the Thai side.

Meanwhile Army Commander in Chief Gen Sonthi Bunyaratglin echoed Boonsang's comments saying the detention was caused by misunderstanding on Laos' part.

The third Army Region is talking with the Laos side to find out what was really happening, Sonthi said. If the group involved in any illegal activities such as smuggling, the army will take legal action against them.

Somphong said on Wednesday that the provincial authorities have already contacted counterparts in Laos to locate the detainees, he said. The group was being held in Maung Yaw district in Xayabouly and they were safe and in good condition.

The army said earlier that the group led by Captain Somsak Phummarin, commander of Company 3203, was captured at the area near Phu Sam Sao in Xianghon district, one kilometre from the border.

They left Thailand at 9am on Tuesday for Xayabouly to seek cooperation on anti narcotic activities along the border area, he said. They were familiar with their Lao counterparts as they regularly visited the province, he added.

In Bangkok, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the ministry had alerted the Thai embassy in Vientiane about the incident.