Category World News

Cambodia has denied laying new landmines along its border with Thailand after Bangkok suspended the implementation of an enhanced ceasefire signed last month over an explosion that wounded four Thai soldiers.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence expressed regret at the landmine explosion the previous day in Thailand’s Sisaket province near the countries’ shared border, saying the blast had taken place in an old minefield.

The ministry said such unexploded ordnance was “remnants of past conflicts” and urged Thai soldiers to avoid patrols in mine-contaminated zones.

Despite the dispute, “both military forces on the front lines had communicated with each other, and, as of now, the situation remains calm, with no tension having been reported,” the ministry added.

Thailand and Cambodia signed their enhanced truce in Malaysia last month after long-running territorial disputes between the Southeast Asian neighbours led to five days of combat in late July.

The conflict, which killed at least 48 people and temporarily displaced an estimated 300,000, marked their worst fighting in recent history.

The enhanced ceasefire, signed in the presence of United States President Donald Trump, sought to build on an earlier truce brokered in July and included the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons.

It also called for Bangkok’s release of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war.

The Thai government on Tuesday insisted the Cambodian explanation was insufficient and said it was halting the release of the Cambodian soldiers, which had been slated for Wednesday.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said his country’s decision would be explained to the US and Malaysia, the chair of the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has facilitated the ceasefire process.

“What they [Cambodia] have said is not sufficient. We have to see what Cambodia’s stance is from now on,” he said.

The Thai military late on Monday said officials had inspected the landmine explosion site in Sisaket and found an explosion pit and three more antipersonnel mines.

Spokesperson Major General Winthai Suvaree said the explosion occurred in an area that Thai soldiers had previously secured. He said that since October 17, the soldiers had removed landmines and laid defensive barbed wire there.

But the wire was destroyed on Sunday, and the soldiers checking the site on Monday stepped on the mine, Winthai said.

“The evidence led to the conclusion that intruders secretly removed the barbed wire and laid the landmines in the Thai territory, targeting the personnel who conduct regular patrols there,” Winthai said, according to the Bangkok Post.

“The act shows Cambodia’s insincerity in reducing conflict and reflects hostility which violates the jointly signed declaration,” he added.

The military said a sergeant lost his right foot in the explosion and the other three suffered minor injuries from shrapnel or the impact of the blast.

There was no immediate comment from the US or Malaysia.

While the Thai-Cambodian truce has generally held since July 29, both countries have traded allegations of ceasefire breaches.

Polls have opened in Iraq for parliamentary elections that are marked by apathy and scepticism despite close geopolitical attention.

Polling started across the country at 7am (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday, in a vote that will be closely watched in Iran and the United States.

The sixth election since the US-led invasion toppled longtime ruler Saddam Hussein in 2003, voting takes place in a relatively stable country.

However, many Iraqis have lost hope that elections can bring meaningful change to their daily lives, feeling that the vote benefits only political elites and regional powers.

Nearly 21 million Iraqis are eligible to vote across 4,501 polling stations nationwide, reported the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

More than 7,750 candidates, nearly a third of them women, are running for 329 seats in parliament. Under the law, 25 percent of seats are reserved for women, while nine are allocated for religious minorities.

Under the electoral law that many believe favours larger parties, just 75 independent candidates are standing.

Observers fear that turnout might dip below the record low of 41 percent in 2021, reflecting voters’ apathy and scepticism in a country marked by entrenched leadership, allegations of mismanagement and endemic corruption.

The polls will close at 6pm (15:00 GMT), with preliminary results expected within 24 hours.

Familiar faces

By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shia Muslim holds the powerful post of prime minister and a Sunni that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.

However, few new potential candidates have emerged recently, with the same veteran politicians at the forefront.

Current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, elected in 2022 with the backing of pro-Iran parties, is expected to secure a sizeable bloc in parliament as he seeks a second term.

Other frontrunners include influential Shia figures, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Muslim scholar Ammar al-Hakim.

Sunni parties are running separately, with the former parliament speaker, Mohammed al-Halbousi, expected to do well.

The ballot is marked by the absence of influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who has urged his followers to boycott the “flawed election”.

In 2021, al-Sadr secured the largest bloc before withdrawing from parliament following a dispute with Shia parties that refused to support his bid to form a government, and instead came together to form a larger alliance.

Balance

Throughout his time in office, al-Sudani has sought to balance Iraq’s relations with Tehran and Washington.

Even as its influence wanes, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq – the only close ally that remained out of Israel’s crosshairs amid the war in Gaza.

By way of contrast, Lebanon and Yemen suffered heavy losses as Israel struck at armed groups that they host.

The US also holds significant sway in Iraq with forces deployed across the country.

Early last year, pro-Iran factions in Iraq, listed as terrorist groups by Washington, yielded to internal and US pressure and halted the targeting of these forces. Baghdad remains under pressure from the US to disarm the groups.

Authorities in Malaysia and Thailand have recovered at least 21 bodies as they search for survivors after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar sank, police and maritime officials said on Monday.

Officials said the boat was carrying about 70 migrants when it capsized near Thailand’s Ko Tarutao island, just north of Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, three days after departing from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

They were believed to have been part of a larger group of some 300 people who were split between at least two boats, police said.

Tarutao is just north of Malaysia’s island resort of Langkawi, where officials said search-and-rescue operations were being concentrated.

Thirteen survivors have been rescued in Malaysian waters since Saturday, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) told reporters on Monday.

Search-and-rescue operations were expected to last for seven days, Romli Mustafa, MMEA director in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis, told reporters on Monday evening.

Hundreds of Rohingya people boarded a vessel bound for Malaysia two weeks ago and were transferred onto two boats on Thursday, Malaysian authorities said.

One boat carrying 70 people sank shortly afterwards, while the fate of about 230 people on board the other vessel remains unclear, officials said.

More than 5,100 Rohingya boarded boats to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November of this year, and nearly 600 of them have been reported dead or missing, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

For years, many Rohingya have embarked on rickety wooden boats to try to reach neighbouring countries, including Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as Thailand, bidding to flee persecution in Myanmar or overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.