Ceasefire on the brink: Thailand, Cambodia trade blame as border tensions flare again

Malay Mail

4 days ago

BANGKOK, July 31 —Thailand and Cambodia exchanged allegations on Wednesday of breaching a ceasefire deal which has largely halted the open combat that engulfed their frontier.
The nations agreed a truce starting Tuesday after five days of clashes killed at least 43 people on both sides, as a long-standing dispute over contested border temples boiled over into fighting on their 800-kilometre boundary.
Khuon Sudary, president of the National Assembly of Cambodia, urged other countries to help ensure the ceasefire is upheld.
'To prevent the breach of the ceasefire, it is urgent to deploy international observers and inspection teams. Please hold accountable those who violate the ceasefire,' she said at the sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva.
Thailand's foreign ministry said its troops in Sisaket province 'came under attack by small arms fire and grenade assaults launched by Cambodian forces' in an offensive that continued until Wednesday morning.
'This represents a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement,' said a foreign ministry statement.
Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab also reported overnight clashes but said 'the Thai side maintained control of the situation' and conditions along the border were 'reported to be normal' from 8am (0100 GMT).
On Wednesday, a Cambodian defence ministry official accused Thailand of twice breaching the ceasefire, intended to end fighting which has seen the two countries evacuate a total of more than 300,000 people from the border region.
UN rights chief Volker Turk urged the neighbouring nations to implement their ceasefire deal in full and take rapid steps to build confidence and peace.
'This crucial agreement must be fully respected, in good faith, by both sides, as diplomatic efforts continue, in a bid to resolve the root causes of the conflict,' Turk said.
At a temple in Thailand's Surin city serving as a shelter and field kitchen 50 kilometres away from the frontier, volunteer Thanin Kittiworranun said evacuees remain in limbo.
'We don't believe Cambodia will hold the ceasefire,' the 65-year-old told AFP.
But an AFP journalist on the Cambodian side who heard a steady drumbeat of artillery fire since fighting began on Thursday reported hearing no blasts between the start of the truce and Wednesday morning.
Beijing said deputy foreign minister Sun Weidong hosted a meeting with Thai and Cambodian officials in Shanghai, where both 'reaffirmed to China their commitment to abide by the ceasefire consensus'.
'Fragile'
The armistice got off to a shaky start in the early hours of Tuesday, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of continuing attacks in 'a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust' — before peace generally prevailed.
Meetings between rival commanders along the border — scheduled as part of the pact — went ahead, with Thailand's army saying de-escalation steps were agreed including 'a halt on troop reinforcements or movements that could lead to misunderstandings'.
But later in the day a foreign affairs spokeswoman for Bangkok's border crisis centre, Maratee Nalita Andamo, warned the situation — in the early days of the truce — remained 'fragile'.
Jets, rockets and artillery have killed at least 15 Thai troops and 15 Thai civilians, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths.
The flare-up has surpassed the death toll of 28 in violence that raged sporadically from 2008 to 2011 over the territory, claimed by both nations because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.
The peace pact was sealed in Malaysia after intervention from US President Donald Trump — who both Thailand and Cambodia are courting for a trade deal to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs. — AFP