Thailand and Cambodia sign truce to halt deadly border clashes

By Pierfrancesco Loreto

Thailand and Cambodia have signed an agreement to implement a ceasefire to stop weeks of border hostilities.

The truce, signed by Thai and Cambodian Defence Ministers, puts on hold the worst conflict in years between the two countries.

In 20 days of armed clashes, just over 100 people have been killed and more than half a million displaced.

In addition to ending fighting, the accord commits each party to no further military actions and to no breaches of the counterpart’s airspace for military purposes.

Only Thailand had conducted air raids during combat, striking locations in Cambodia as recently as Saturday morning.

The breakdown of the first ceasefire

Renewed fighting broke out early this month after the collapse of a ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had helped negotiate to halt a previous round of clashes.

Mr Trump pushed through the first deal, threatening to deny Thailand and Cambodia trade privileges unless both countries agreed.

The U.S. President named the agreement the "Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords". It ordered each party to withdraw its artillery from the contested territory and to set up an interim panel of observers to oversee the process.

However, Thailand stopped complying with it in November after Thai soldiers suffered mine blast injuries.

For over a century, the two countries have had competing claims to rule several unbounded points along their 817 km (508 miles) frontier.

A feud that at times has caused confrontations and clashes, with an escalation of tension at the beginning of the year, when a group of women sang patriotic songs in a disputed temple.

An observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will monitor the new ceasefire and both countries will provide direct coordination.

Under the new terms, the return of people displaced from affected border ‌zones will be guaranteed and neither side will use any force against civilians.

Thailand will also free 18 Cambodian soldiers in its custody since the July clashes if the truce is fully upheld for 72 hours, according to the deal.

Since the fighting began, hundreds of thousands of people have fled from stricken areas on both sides of the border.

Each side accused the other of inciting the clashes and declared that they were acting in self-defense.

Saturday's pact, however, will not affect any boundary-setting activities in progress between the parties and the assignment of contested territories will be left to bilateral negotiations.