Thailand releases 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July


Thailand has released 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in deadly border clashes in July as part of a ceasefire agreement between the two countries on Saturday.

The handover was delayed by a day due to concerns in Thailand over alleged ceasefire violations, but was completed after China continued diplomatic pressure to ensure the deal was implemented.

Tensions along the border between Thailand and Cambodia erupted earlier this month and have raged for weeks, forcing nearly a million people to flee their homes.

Saturday’s agreement showed both sides agreed to freeze current front lines, ban reinforcements and allow civilians living in border areas to return as soon as possible.

18 Cambodian soldiers in civilian clothes were greeted by well-wishers as they were escorted through a border checkpoint and handed over to Cambodian authorities.

Their release has been one of the Cambodian government’s main demands in ceasefire talks with Thailand after they have been imprisoned since July during a previous round of deadly clashes that stoked nationalist sentiment in Cambodia.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s foreign ministry said the release of the soldiers was a “show of goodwill” and hoped Cambodia would “repay this goodwill through concrete actions.”

Cambodia confirmed the return of its troops and its defense ministry said it “remains hopeful” that it would help build “mutual trust and confidence”.

One of the terms of the ceasefire is that the 18 soldiers must be handed over within 72 hours (by noon local time on Tuesday). But the move was delayed after Bangkok accused Phnom Penh of violating the truce by flying more than 250 drones into Thailand on Sunday.

Despite complaints from Thailand, the latest ceasefire appears to be holding so far.

Disagreements over the border date back more than a century, but tensions heightened earlier this year after a group of Cambodian women sang patriotic songs at a controversial temple.

A Cambodian soldier was killed in clashes in May. Then in July, five days of fierce fighting along the border left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. Thousands more civilians have been displaced.

The two countries reached a fragile ceasefire in July, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, and signed in October. But the ceasefire collapsed earlier this month after new tensions erupted, with each side blaming the other for causing the ceasefire.



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