Thailand releases 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July, both governments said, after a fresh ceasefire between the neighbours held for more than three days following weeks of deadly border clashes.

“I can confirm that our 18 heroic soldiers have safely arrived on Cambodian soil at around 10:00 am (0300 GMT),” Cambodia’s information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP.

Thailand’s foreign ministry also confirmed the repatriation of the 18 soldiers to Cambodia, saying it was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”, according to a statement.

“I am so happy. I can’t wait to see him. I miss him so much,” Voeung Vy, the father of one of the returned soldiers, told AFP.

He said he would welcome his son home in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed a truce on Saturday, ending renewed fighting at their border that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.

Under the truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along their disputed frontier.

They also agreed to allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.

Cambodia has said its soldiers were captured by Thai forces on July 29 — nearly eight hours after a ceasefire that halted five days of deadly clashes went into effect.

The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.

US President Donald Trump jetted to Malaysia in October to oversee the signing of a follow-on declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after the neighbours agreed to prolong their truce.

That pact said that Thailand would “promptly release” the captured Cambodian soldiers, calling them “prisoners of war”.

But Bangkok suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.

The reignited fighting this month — with artillery, tanks, drones and jets — spread to nearly every border province on both sides.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometre (500-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.

While the two nations agreed on Saturday to stop fighting, they still need to resolve the demarcation of their disputed border.