Bangkok [Thailand], December 28: Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following weeks of border clashes, with the defence ministers of both countries on Saturday signing a joint statement to end the bloodshed.
This applies to all types of weapons, attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructure, as well as military targets on both sides, "in all cases and all areas," the sides declared.
The ceasefire took effect at 12pm (0500 GMT). The agreement stipulates that it will be monitored and observed for a period of 72 hours to ensure its implementation, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.
Since the beginning of December, more than 100 people have died in clashes at multiple points along the 800-kilometre Thai-Cambodian border, including several dozen civilians.
More than half a million residents on both sides were forced to flee their homes as the countries accused each other of shelling civilian areas - claims that both denied.
Following recent preparatory talks by a joint border committee, Thai Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha met at a border checkpoint between Cambodia's Pailin province and Thailand's Chanthaburi province.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had expressed hope on Friday in Bangkok that the two sides would be able to agree on measures to end the fighting, which stems from a decades-long territorial dispute about the border.
Heavy clashes occurred in July, ending after a few days with a ceasefire. In October, the two sides agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from the border area and to conduct joint demining work.
However, the truce was suspended in November following a new incident, and tensions escalated further after a border skirmish on December 7. Fighting resumed at multiple locations along the frontier.
The ceasefire agreement also stipulates that Thailand will release a total of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war after a 72-hour ceasefire.
Thailand's Foreign Ministry said this was a demonstration of goodwill.
The agreement added that joint border coordination units under the observation of a team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would ensure compliance with a permanent ceasefire.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed the agreement between the two sides.
"The decision to halt fighting and to hold forces in place reflects a shared recognition that restraint is required, above all in the interest of civilians," he wrote on X.
Source: Qatar Tribune
