Thailand and Cambodia agree to an immediate ceasefire after weeks of deadly border clashes that killed 47 and displaced over a million people
PHNOM PENH: Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire to end weeks of deadly border clashes.
A joint statement signed by the two countries’ defence ministers said the truce took effect from noon local time on Saturday.
The ceasefire applies to all weapons and prohibits attacks on civilians, infrastructure, and military objectives in all areas.
Both sides also agreed to freeze troop movements and allow displaced civilians to return home as soon as possible.
They will cooperate on demining and combatting cybercrime, while Thailand will return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours.
Thai Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit called the initial three-day period an “observation period to confirm that the ceasefire is real”.
He described the truce as “a door to a peaceful resolution” of the long-standing border issue.
The agreement follows three days of talks announced after a crisis meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.
The United States and China also pushed for the neighbours to cease fighting.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre border.
At least 47 people were killed and more than a million displaced in three weeks of fighting involving artillery, tanks, drones and jets.
The conflict spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce brokered in October.
Each side had blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had sounded an upbeat note ahead of the signing.
“You can trust Thailand. We always uphold our agreements and commitments. Let this be the final signing, so that peace can be restored and our people can return home,” he said.
General elections are scheduled to take place in Thailand on February 8.
