Three days after the two nations agreed to a new ceasefire to end weeks of deadly border clashes, Thailand has released 18 Cambodian soldiers it has been detained since July, according to officials.
According to a statement, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the soldiers had been repatriated to Cambodia on Wednesday, stating that it had been done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building.”
After 155 days in Thai custody, the soldiers arrived on Cambodian soil on Wednesday at 10am local time (03:00 GMT), according to the Cambodian Ministry of National and National Affairs.
Following the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement that President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped broker to put an end to a previous round of conflict in July, the border clashes rekindled.
More than half a million people were displaced by the fighting, which included fighter jet sorties, rocket fire exchanges, and artillery barrages on both sides.
A new ceasefire was agreed to over the weekend by the two Southeast Asian neighbors, and it became effective on Saturday at noon (05:00 GMT).
Thailand delayed the handover due to alleged ceasefire violations, which Cambodia denied, but the soldiers were scheduled to return on Tuesday.
Share this:
Related
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply