Thailand and Cambodia agree ‘immediate’ ceasefire after weeks of deadly border clashes | Asia Pacific
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire, vowing to end weeks of deadly border clashes that have killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.
The ceasefire will come into force at noon local time on Saturday and will cover “all forms of weapons in all situations and in all areas, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military targets of both sides,” the two Southeast Asian neighbors said in a joint statement.
“Both sides agreed to maintain current troop deployments without further action,” the defense ministers said in a joint statement. he said.
According to a statement from the Cambodian defense ministry, “any reinforcements would increase tensions and negatively impact long-term efforts to resolve the situation.”
The two countries also agreed to cooperate in demining efforts and combating cybercrime.
The agreement, signed by Thai defense minister Natthaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, ended 20 days of clashes that included fighter jet sorties, rocket fire and artillery fire.
While the two countries were holding talks on Saturday to end the conflict, Cambodia said Thailand had hit an area in the country’s northwest with an airstrike.
Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets to drop four bombs on a target at Serei Saophoan in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey on Saturday morning, Cambodia’s defense ministry said. On Friday, Cambodia said a similar airstrike dropped 40 bombs on a target in the village of Chok Chey in the same province. The Thai military confirmed Friday’s attack.
Long-standing, conflicting territorial claims along the border are at the root of tensions that erupted into open conflict in late July. Despite a tenuous ceasefire brokered by Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and backed by pressure from US president Donald Trump, fighting broke out again in early December.
According to officials, Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the fighting since December 7. Thailand also reported 44 civilian deaths due to fallout from the situation. Cambodia has not released official figures on military casualties but states that 30 civilians were killed and 90 civilians were injured.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas on both sides of the border.
