Thailand and Cambodia truce talks due but strikes continue
At least 35 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced since Thursday as the countries fight over a smattering of contested ancient temples.
In an effort initiated by US President Donald Trump, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) in Kuala Lumpur. China is also expected to send a delegation.
Ahead of the talks, Thailand and Cambodia traded fresh fire and accusations.
"This is the fifth day that Thailand has invaded Cambodia's territory with heavy weapons and with the deployment of a lot of troops to grab Cambodia's land," said defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata.
The previous night, Thailand's military said Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets.
It said fighting was ongoing at seven areas along the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.
"The situation remains highly tense, and it is anticipated that Cambodia may be preparing for a major military operation prior to entering negotiations," the Thai military statement read.
On Saturday, Trump said he made a late-night call to both leaders, who had agreed to "quickly work out" a truce.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the summit -- which will be mediated by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim -- was also organised "with the participation of China" -- a key trade and political ally.
"The purpose of this meeting is to achieve an immediate ceasefire, which was initiated by President Donald Trump and agreed to by both prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand," Hun Manet said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that US officials "are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts", while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an "immediate ceasefire".
BOTH SIDES POINT THE FINGER
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn marked his 73rd birthday on Monday, but a notice in the country's Royal Gazette said his public celebrations scheduled for Bangkok's Grand Palace have been cancelled amid the strife.
Both Thailand and Cambodia have agreed in principle to a truce -- but accused each other of undermining armistice efforts and of firing first.
Trump has threatened both countries with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals.
"When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!" he wrote on social media.
But each side has also blamed the other for undermining peace efforts.
The Thai foreign ministry accused Cambodian forces of firing shells into civilian homes in Surin province.
"Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith," the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Cambodia's defence ministry accused Thailand of "deliberate and coordinated acts of aggression".
Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 14 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths.
The Thai military said it had returned the bodies of 12 Cambodian soldiers killed in combat.
The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people from Thailand's border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has also accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
With the conflict enflaming nationalist sentiments, Thailand issued a warning to its citizens to "refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action" against Cambodian migrants living in the country.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
17 hours ago
- The Herald
US weighs refugee cap of 40,000 with most spots for Afrikaners
US President Donald Trump's administration is discussing a refugee admissions cap of about 40,000 for the coming year with most allocated to white South Africans, according to two US officials briefed on the matter and an internal refugee programme email, reflecting a major shift in the US approach to refugees. Angie Salazar, the top refugee programme official at the US health and human services department (HHS), told state-level refugee workers she expected the cap to be 40,000, according to an email summary of an August 1 meeting reviewed by Reuters. The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30,000 of the 40,000 spaces would be reserved for Afrikaners. The 40,000-person cap would be a sharp drop from the 100,000 refugees brought in by former president Joe Biden in 2024 fiscal year, but higher than the record-low 15,000 person ceiling Trump set for fiscal 2021 before ending his first term. A separate person familiar with the matter said that in addition to the 40,000 figure a cap as low as 12,000 had also been discussed. There are 37-million refugees worldwide, according to a UN estimate. Trump immediately froze refugee admissions after taking office in January, but weeks later launched a programme for Afrikaners, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-black South Africa, claims rejected by South Africa's government. The Trump administration also expects to bring in some Afghans who aided the US government during the conflict in Afghanistan and is weighing whether to resettle Ukrainians, the email said. Some spaces would remain unallocated to potentially be filled by other nationalities, the email and officials said. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stressed that no decisions were final until Trump issued his determination for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. 'President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the US,' Kelly said. 'Refugee admission caps will be determined next month and any numbers discussed now are pure speculation.' A senior state department official pointed to the department's recent human rights report, which raised concerns about 'inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities' in South Africa. The HHS referred questions related to the refugee cap to the White House. Salazar did not respond to requests for comment. The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, but only 34 more had arrived by early August, a White House official said. The state department laid off many refugee programme staffers in major workforce reductions in July. To compensate for the fired staff, workers from the HHS who normally deal with domestic refugee assistance have been reassigned to the South Africa programme, one of the officials said. Thirteen HHS staffers were dispatched to Pretoria on Monday though most had no direct experience screening refugees, the official said. An HHS spokesperson said trained staff had been detailed to support refugee resettlement but that they were not conducting interviews to determine whether a refugee had experienced persecution. Some South Africans now in the US with refugee status have reached out to the HHS to raise concerns about a lack of benefits to support them, one of the US officials said. Trump slashed refugee benefits after taking office, including reducing cash assistance and healthcare benefits that normally last a year to four months. One of the initial group of 59 South Africans brought into the US in mid-May sent an email to the HHS' refugee office two weeks later pleading for help getting a social security number (SSN) and access to a work permit. The person, who went to Missoula, Montana, said their family had spent thousands of dollars to cover expenses. 'We have applied for jobs like crazy but to no avail because we found people here are not keen on hiring refugees without an SSN,' one of the family members wrote in a May 27 email to the HHS refugee programme reviewed by Reuters. 'We have spent about $4,000 [R70,307] on Uber, food, cellphone SIM cards which don't work.' The person was concerned the family would not be able to find housing after a government-funded hotel stay ended in early June. Reuters could not reach the family. The HHS spokesperson said the agency takes complaints seriously and refugees placed in temporary housing receive support for essential needs, including food. A person familiar with the matter said some South Africans arrived in the US expecting standard refugee benefits that had been paused or reduced by Trump. Reuters
TimesLIVE
19 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
US weighs refugee cap of 40,000 with most spots for Afrikaners
US President Donald Trump's administration is discussing a refugee admissions cap of about 40,000 for the coming year with most allocated to white South Africans, according to two US officials briefed on the matter and an internal refugee programme email, reflecting a major shift in the US approach to refugees. Angie Salazar, the top refugee programme official at the US health and human services department (HHS), told state-level refugee workers she expected the cap to be 40,000, according to an email summary of an August 1 meeting reviewed by Reuters. The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30,000 of the 40,000 spaces would be reserved for Afrikaners. The 40,000-person cap would be a sharp drop from the 100,000 refugees brought in by former president Joe Biden in 2024 fiscal year, but higher than the record-low 15,000 person ceiling Trump set for fiscal 2021 before ending his first term. A separate person familiar with the matter said that in addition to the 40,000 figure a cap as low as 12,000 had also been discussed. There are 37-million refugees worldwide, according to a UN estimate. Trump immediately froze refugee admissions after taking office in January, but weeks later launched a programme for Afrikaners, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-black South Africa, claims rejected by South Africa's government. The Trump administration also expects to bring in some Afghans who aided the US government during the conflict in Afghanistan and is weighing whether to resettle Ukrainians, the email said. Some spaces would remain unallocated to potentially be filled by other nationalities, the email and officials said. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stressed that no decisions were final until Trump issued his determination for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. 'President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the US,' Kelly said. 'Refugee admission caps will be determined next month and any numbers discussed now are pure speculation.' A senior state department official pointed to the department's recent human rights report, which raised concerns about 'inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities' in South Africa. The HHS referred questions related to the refugee cap to the White House. Salazar did not respond to requests for comment. The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, but only 34 more had arrived by early August, a White House official said. The state department laid off many refugee programme staffers in major workforce reductions in July. To compensate for the fired staff, workers from the HHS who normally deal with domestic refugee assistance have been reassigned to the South Africa programme, one of the officials said. Thirteen HHS staffers were dispatched to Pretoria on Monday though most had no direct experience screening refugees, the official said. An HHS spokesperson said trained staff had been detailed to support refugee resettlement but that they were not conducting interviews to determine whether a refugee had experienced persecution. Some South Africans now in the US with refugee status have reached out to the HHS to raise concerns about a lack of benefits to support them, one of the US officials said. Trump slashed refugee benefits after taking office, including reducing cash assistance and healthcare benefits that normally last a year to four months. One of the initial group of 59 South Africans brought into the US in mid-May sent an email to the HHS' refugee office two weeks later pleading for help getting a social security number (SSN) and access to a work permit. The person, who went to Missoula, Montana, said their family had spent thousands of dollars to cover expenses. 'We have applied for jobs like crazy but to no avail because we found people here are not keen on hiring refugees without an SSN,' one of the family members wrote in a May 27 email to the HHS refugee programme reviewed by Reuters. 'We have spent about $4,000 [R70,307] on Uber, food, cellphone SIM cards which don't work.' The person was concerned the family would not be able to find housing after a government-funded hotel stay ended in early June. Reuters could not reach the family. The HHS spokesperson said the agency takes complaints seriously and refugees placed in temporary housing receive support for essential needs, including food. A person familiar with the matter said some South Africans arrived in the US expecting standard refugee benefits that had been paused or reduced by Trump.
TimesLIVE
19 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Trump and Putin to spar over Ukraine peace and arms control at Alaska summit
By Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are holding talks in Alaska on Friday, with the US president's hopes of sealing a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain but with a last gasp offer from the Russian president of a possible nuclear deal that could help the two men save face. The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska will be their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House and comes amid Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might sell out Kyiv. The White House said the meeting will take place at 11am, Alaska time (7pm GMT). Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said on Thursday the three-and-a-half-year conflict had proved to be a tougher nut to crack than he had said. He said if his talks with Putin went well, setting up a subsequent three-way summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to Friday's meeting, would be more important than his encounter with Putin. Trump is pressing for a truce to bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, something he has made clear is important to him. Ukraine and its European allies were heartened by their conference call on Wednesday in which, they said, Trump agreed Ukraine must be involved in any talks about ceding land. Zelensky said Trump had also supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement, though the US president has made no public mention of them. Wednesday's call eased their fears of a Trump-Putin deal that would leave Ukraine under pressure to make territorial and other concessions. Putin, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its straitjacket of ever-tightening Western sanctions, or at the very least not to hit Moscow with more sanctions, something Trump has threatened. The day before the summit, the Kremlin leader held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants, namely a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. Trump said on the eve of the summit Putin would do a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. Putin, meanwhile, praised what he called 'sincere efforts' by the US to end the war. A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters it looked as if the two sides had been able to find unspecified common ground beforehand. 'Apparently, some terms will be agreed on tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure),' said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. Putin has set stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a phased truce in the air war, though the two sides have accused each other of flouting a previous accord. Analysts said Putin could try to look like he's giving Trump what he wants while remaining free to escalate in Ukraine if he wants to. 'If they (the Russians) are able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of a ceasefire but leaves Russia in control of the escalatory dynamics, does not create any kind of genuine deterrence on the ground or in the skies over Ukraine, that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin's perspective,' said Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Zelensky has accused Putin of bluffing and playing for time to avoid US secondary sanctions and has ruled out handing Moscow any territory. Trump has said land transfers between Russia and Ukraine could be a possible way of breaking the logjam. Putin, whose forces control nearly one fifth of Ukraine, wants Trump to start reviving the US and Russia's shrunken economic, political and business ties and, ideally, not to make the process contingent on progress on Ukraine. However, it is unclear whether Putin is willing to compromise on Ukraine. In power for a quarter of a century, the Kremlin chief has staked his legacy on coming out of the war with something he can sell to his people as a victory. Chief among his war aims is complete Russian control over the Donbas industrial region in eastern Ukraine, which comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Despite steady advances, about 25% of Donetsk remains beyond Russian control. Putin also wants full control of Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Nato membership to be taken off the table for Kyiv and limits on the size of Ukraine's armed forces. Ukraine has said the terms are unacceptable and tantamount to asking it to capitulate.
