Cambodia-Thailand border situation eases: PM Hun Manet

Phnom Penh: The situation of the Cambodia-Thailand border has eased after a ceasefire took effect Monday midnight, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Tuesday morning.

In a post on his official social media platforms, Hun Manet said, “The frontline has eased after a ceasefire took effect from Monday midnight in accordance with the spirit of the agreement between Cambodia and Thailand at a special meeting in Malaysia.”

“A sooner cessation of hostilities will also allow affected people, such as evacuees, to return to their homes and resume normal livelihoods sooner,” he said.

“This ceasefire and peace agreement is yielding positive and effective results,” Cambodian Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Tuesday morning in a post on his official social media platforms.

Thai and Cambodian leaders have agreed to implement a ceasefire starting midnight on Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said following a meeting on Monday hosted by him in Malaysia, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cambodia and Thailand agreed on Monday to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire, following talks in Kuala Lumpur that were mediated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

According to a joint press statement, the special meeting was chaired, hosted, and witnessed by Prime Minister Ibrahim in Putrajaya city of Malaysia. Prime Minister Manet and Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai participated in the discussions.

The talks were held amid escalating border clashes between Cambodia and Thailand which disturbed regional peace tremendously.

The exchange of gunfire between Cambodian and Thai soldiers over disputed border areas began on July 24, with both sides accusing each other of violating international law.

–IANS