Thailand and Cambodia disputed whether an hours-old border truce was holding after the Thai army accused Cambodian forces of launching attacks. Meanwhile, a military-level parley has reportedly been postponed.
Thailand’s army on Tuesday accused Cambodia of violating a ceasefire that came into effect from midnight following the deadliest conflict between the southeast Asian neighbors in over a decade.
A statement from the Thai army said that there had been attacks by Cambodian troops in at least five different locations earlier on Tuesday. It added that Thailand’s military had retaliated proportionately.
“At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory,” Thai army spokesman Winthai Suwaree said.
“This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust,” he added.
Cambodia denies attacks, Thailand says situation “calm”
Cambodia’s defense ministry dismissed the Thai claims of a ceasefire violation.
“After the ceasefire became effective, there has been no armed conflict on all front lines. This is the firm determination of the Cambodian leadership to implement the ceasefire,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Maly Socheata, said in a statement..
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai played down the clashes, stressing that there was no “escalation”.
“Right now things are calm,” he told the media, adding that he had spoken to Cambodia’s defence minister.
Military talks postponed, says Thai army
The ambiguity over the violation of truce comes as military commanders from both sides were scheduled to hold talks.
Winthai said that while Thai and Cambodian military officials had met in two areas, the regional commanders along the part of the jungle-clad frontier which saw the heaviest fighting were yet to hold talks.
The talks were slated to be held at 10 am local time (0500 CET), but were postponed, a Thai army spokesperson was cited by Reuters news agency as saying.
The spokesperson added that no new time has been set so far.
What were the Thailand-Cambodia border clashes?
At least 38 people were killed after border clashes erupted last Thursday, involving jets, rockers and artillery.
Some 300,000 people were displaced in the fighting that went on for five days.
On Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s Phumtham agreed to an “unconditional” halt in the standoff.
The truce talks were the result of a push from Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Also read: Thailand-Cambodia border conflict: What you need to know
Source: Dharvi Vaid – dw.com
