Thailand and Cambodia Announce Immediate Ceasefire Amid Border Clashes
Thailand and Cambodia have announced an immediate ceasefire following intense border clashes that have resulted in at least 41 deaths and displaced nearly 1 million people. The defence ministers of both countries issued a joint statement declaring that the ceasefire would take effect at noon local time, with frozen troop movements and civilians in border areas allowed to return home.
The ceasefire conditions include a halt to attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and military targets, as well as the avoidance of unprovoked firing or troop movements toward opposing positions. If the ceasefire holds for 72 hours, Thailand will release 18 Cambodian soldiers it currently holds. This release is to be conducted in the spirit of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, signed in October at a ceremony attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
This ceasefire follows a prior truce earlier this month, which collapsed amid mutual accusations from both sides. On the Friday preceding the ceasefire, Thailand conducted air strikes on a disputed Cambodian border region. Bangkok claimed these strikes targeted a fortified position after civilians had evacuated the area, whereas Cambodia condemned the air strikes as indiscriminate attacks against civilian houses.
The long-standing border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia date back more than a century. Tensions sharply escalated in May following the death of a Cambodian soldier, with fighting in July resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands displaced.
