Thai army accuses Cambodia of breaking truce
SURIN, Thailand: Thailand's army accused Cambodia Tuesday (July 29) of violating an hours-old truce, saying clashes continued despite a deal meant to end the bloody fighting that has engulfed their jungle-clad frontier.
Following peace talks in Malaysia on Monday, both sides agreed an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight to end fighting over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their 800-kilometre border.
ALSO READ: Thai, Cambodian PMs welcome Malaysian-brokered peace
"At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory," said Thai army spokesman Winthai Suwaree.
"This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust, he added in a statement.
"Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defence."
In Cambodia's Samraong city - 20 kilometres from the border - an AFP journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight, with the lull continuing until dawn.
"The frontline has eased since the ceasefire at 12 midnight," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Tuesday morning message on Facebook.
Jets, rockets and artillery have killed at least 38 people since last Thursday and displaced nearly 300,000 more - prompting intervention from US President Donald Trump over the weekend.
The flare-up was the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.
The peace deal was set to see military commanders from both sides meet at 07:00 am (0000 GMT), before a cross-border committee is convened in Cambodia to further salve tensions on August 4.
"When I heard the news I was so happy because I miss my home and my belongings that I left behind," Phean Neth told AFP on Monday evening at a sprawling camp for Cambodian evacuees on a temple site away from the fighting.
"I am so happy that I can't describe it," said the 45-year-old.
A joint statement from both countries - as well as Malaysia which hosted the peace talks - said the ceasefire was "a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security".
A spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement Monday evening that "he urges both countries to respect the agreement fully and to create an environment conducive to addressing long-standing issues and achieving lasting peace".
Both sides are courting Trump for trade deals to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs, and the US State Department said its officials had been "on the ground" to shepherd peace talks.
The joint statement said China also had "active participation" in the talks, hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister and Asean bloc chair Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his country's administrative capital Putrajaya.
Hun Manet thanked Trump for his "decisive" support, while his counterpart, Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said it should be "carried out in good faith by both sides".
"If they say they'll stop firing, they must stop completely," said 43-year-old Thai evacuee Prapakarn Samruamjit in the city of Surin.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn marked his 73rd birthday on Monday, but a notice in the country's Royal Gazette said public celebrations scheduled for Bangkok's Grand Palace had been cancelled amid the strife.
Each side had already agreed to a truce in principle, while accusing the other of undermining peace efforts and trading allegations about the use of cluster bombs and targeting of hospitals.
Thailand says 11 of its soldiers and 14 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed only eight civilian and five military deaths.
More than 138,000 people have fled Thailand's border regions, while around 140,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Analysis-World Court climate opinion turns up the legal heat on governments
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -A landmark opinion delivered by the United Nations' highest court last week that governments must protect the climate is already being cited in courtrooms, as lawyers say it strengthens the legal arguments in suits against countries and companies. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, last Wednesday laid out the duty of states to limit harm from greenhouse gases and to regulate private industry. It said failure to reduce emissions could be an internationally wrongful act and, found that treaties such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change should be considered legally binding. While not specifically naming the United States, the court said countries that were not part of the United Nations climate treaty must still protect the climate as a matter of human rights law and customary international law. Only a day after the World Court opinion, lawyers for a windfarm distributed copies of it to the seven judges of the Irish Supreme Court on the final day of hearings ona case about whether planning permits for turbines should prioritise climate concerns over rural vistas. It is not clear when the Irish court will deliver its ruling. Lawyer Alan Roberts, for Coolglass Wind Farm, said the opinion would boost his client's argument that Ireland's climate obligations must be taken into account when considering domestic law. Although also not legally binding, the ICJ's opinion has legal weight, provided that national courts accept as a legal benchmark for their deliberations, which U.N. states typically do. The United States, where nearly two-thirds of all climate litigation cases are ongoing, is increasingly likely to be an exception as it has always been ambivalent about the significance of ICJ opinions for domestic courts. Compounding that, under U.S. President Donald Trump, the country has been tearing up all climate regulations. Not all U.S. states are sceptical about climate change, however, and lawyers said they still expected the opinion to be cited in U.S. cases. In Europe, where lawyers say the ICJ opinion is likely to have its greatest impact on upcoming climate cases, recent instances of governments respecting the court's rulings include Britain's decision late last year to reopen negotiations to return the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. That followed a 2019 ICJ opinion that London should cede control. BONAIRE VERSUS THE NETHERLANDS Turning to environmental cases, in a Dutch civil case due to be heard in October - Bonaire versus The Netherlands - Greenpeace Netherlands and eight people from the Dutch territory of Bonaire, a low-lying island in the Caribbean, will argue that the Netherlands' climate plan is insufficient to protect the island against rising sea levels. The World Court said countries' national climate plans must be "stringent" and aligned to the Paris Agreement aim to limit warming to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average. The court also said countries must take responsibility for a country's fair share of historical emissions. In hearings last December at the ICJ that led to last week's opinion, many wealthy countries, including Norway, Saudi Arabia, and The United States argued national climate plans were non-binding. "The court has said (...) that's not correct," said Lucy Maxwell, co-director of the Climate Litigation Network. In the Bonaire case, the Dutch government is arguing that having a climate plan is sufficient. The plaintiffs argue it would not meet the 1.5C threshold and the Netherlands must do its fair share to keep global warming below that, Louise Fournier, legal counsel for Greenpeace International, said. "This is definitely going to help there," Fourniersaid of the ICJ opinion in the Bonaire case. 'URGENT AND EXISTENTIAL THREAT' The ICJ opinion said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat," citing decades of peer-reviewed research, even as scepticism has mounted in some quarters, led by the United States. A document seen by Reuters shows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may question the research behind mainstream climate science and is poised to revoke its scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. Jonathan Martel of the U.S. law firm Arnold and Porter represents industry clients on environmental issues. He raised the prospect of possible legal challenges to the EPA's regulatory changes given that an international court has treated the science of climate change as unequivocal and settled. "This might create a further obstacle for those who would advocate against regulatory action based on scientific uncertainty regarding the existence of climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases," he said. The U.S. EPA changes would affect the agency's regulations on tailpipe emissions from vehicles that run on fossil fuel. Legal teams are reviewing the impact of the ruling on litigation against the companies that produce fossil fuel, as well as on the governments that regulate them. TheWorld Courtsaid that states could be held liable for the activities of private actors under their control, specifically mentioning the licensing and subsidising of fossil fuel production. Notre Affaire à Tous, a French NGO whose case against TotalEnergies is due to be heard in January 2026, expected the advisory opinion to strengthen its arguments. "This opinion will strongly reinforce our case because it mentions (...) that providing new licences to new oil and gas projects may be a constitutional and international wrongful act," said Paul Mougeolle, senior counsel for Notre Affaire à Tous. TotalEnergies did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Alison Withers, additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici from Washington; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Malaysian aid finally enters Gaza after six-month blockade
Children jostle for free meals at a charity kitchen. KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian humanitarian mission has successfully delivered 2,400 tonnes of aid to Gaza in a Jordan-led convoy, the first cross-border delivery since Israel closed off all access to the territory on Feb 2. Karisma Humanitarian Aid Mission (KHOM) director Nik Marina Datuk Hussein said the supplies, comprising food boxes and infant formula funded by public donations, were transported on four trucks that joined a 60-truck convoy coordinated by the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) with support from the World Food Programme (WFP) and World Central Kitchen. The convoy, which entered Gaza early Monday (July 28) through the King Hussein Bridge in Jordan, was the sixth humanitarian delivery organised by Jordan in recent days. "The aid from KHOM had been stored in Jordan since February due to the closure, but was immediately handed over to JAF once clearance was granted. We were informed the convoy has now reached Gaza, with KHOM's aid among the first to reach starving residents," she said in a statement on Tuesday (July 29). Nik Marina said the breakthrough followed confirmation from Jordanian authorities on July 26 that KHOM's aid had been approved for entry, making it the first Malaysian non-governmental organisation (NGO) to deliver external aid to Gaza in almost six months. She thanked Jordan's King Abdullah II for issuing the Royal Decree that enabled the mission, as well as JAF, the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) and other agencies for prioritising KHOM's supplies in Jordan's sixth aid mission to Gaza. "The political truce in Gaza announced by Israel remains fragile. Even before the war, Gaza needed no less than 1,000 truckloads of food a day, let alone now when starvation is being used as a weapon of war," she said. She added that the delivery reflects the trust of Malaysians who have been contributing since the conflict erupted on Oct 7, 2023 and assured that KHOM will continue its relief work with public support. Donations to KHOM can be made via its official website at – Bernama
The Sun
20 minutes ago
- The Sun
ASEAN as global peace model affirmed by Malaysia and Brunei
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Brunei have voiced strong confidence in ASEAN's ability to remain a leading example of diplomacy and global peace. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted this during a phone discussion with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah following his arrival at the ASEAN Secretariat Building in Jakarta. 'We touched on ASEAN as well as talking about efforts to reconcile Thailand and Cambodia, which agreed to unconditionally stop all forms of violence yesterday. 'God willing, we are confident that ASEAN will continue to be a model region in promoting diplomacy and global peace,' Anwar shared in a Facebook post. The breakthrough follows a special ASEAN meeting chaired by Anwar in Putrajaya, where Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to de-escalate border tensions. The meeting saw the participation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. Key international stakeholders, including US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan and Chinese Ambassador Ouyang Yujing, also attended. The US co-organised the session, while China observed in support of a peaceful resolution. The longstanding border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia spans 817 kilometres, with tensions escalating since late May after clashes near Preah Vihear claimed a Cambodian soldier's life. Renewed skirmishes on July 24 further strained relations before the ceasefire agreement. Anwar later proceeded to Jakarta for the 13th Annual Consultation with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. – Bernama
