Thailand, Cambodia sign truce to halt fierce border conflict
Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, left, and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands and hold up a document, during the signing of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 26. Reuters-Yonhap
BANGKOK — Thailand and Cambodia agreed Saturday to halt weeks of fierce border clashes, the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian countries that has included fighter jets sorties, exchange of rocket fire and artillery barrages.
"Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement," their defence ministers said in a joint statement on the ceasefire, to take effect at noon.
"Any reinforcement would heighten tensions and negatively affect long-term efforts to resolve the situation," according to the statement released on social media by Cambodia's Defence Ministry.
The agreement, signed by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakrphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, ended 20 days of fighting that has killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.
The clashes were re-ignited in early December after a breakdown in a ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump had helped broker to halt a previous round of fighting in July.