A wounded Thai soldier is carried to be transferred to a hospital, in Surin province, Thailand following clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers. (AP Photo) Thailand’s army has accused Cambodia of breaching a ceasefire deal, signed recently between the two countries, after weeks of deadly fighting which forced nearly one million people to leave their homes. The new ceasefire agreement was signed on Saturday to end the clashes along their border over disputed territorial claims.
The Thai army, in a statement, said that over 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were spotted hovering from the Cambodian side of the border on Sunday night, the BBC reported. The ceasefire, after the newly signed agreement, came into effect at 5 am GMT on Saturday. Thailand and Cambodia agreed to freeze the front lines wherever they are, allow civilians who reside along the border to return, and block reinforcements.
The newly signed ceasefire agreement was seen as a breakthrough between the two countries that have been fighting over disputed territorial claims with diplomatic involvement from the US, led by President Donald Trump, and China.
An official statement by the Royal Thai Army on Monday stated that Cambodia’s actions “constitute provocation and a violation of measures aimed at reducing tensions” adding that the Cambodian actions were “inconsistent” with the terms of ceasefire.
The statement further said that Thailand “may need to reconsider” the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers held in the country since July. The deal has called for Thailand to repatriate the soldiers if the ceasefire is held for 72 hours or more.
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The ceasefire deal called for a pause in military movements and airspace violations for military purposes. Earlier, the Cambodian defence ministry had said that only Thailand carried out airstrikes at different sites in Cambodia.
The allegations of ceasefire violations by the Thai army came as soon as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised the deal as “hard won” and President Donald Trump called it “a rapid and fair conclusion.”
The earlier ceasefire deal, which was agreed upon in July and signed in October, collapsed earlier this month after fresh reports of clashes between the Thai army and Cambodian military surfaced.
(with inputs from AP)
