This Wednesday, Thailand repatriated 18 Cambodian soldiers captured during the five days of fighting last July, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The liberation was one of the points to put an end to military clashes that flared up again in December and caused around a hundred deaths and nearly
“At 10:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. Spanish peninsular time), Thailand repatriated the 18 detained Cambodian soldiers to Cambodia,” Foreign Affairs reported in a statement, continuing with the agreement reached last Saturday that stipulated their return after the ceasefire had been “fully maintained” for 72 hours.
Thailand adds that it hopes Cambodia will “reciprocate” the gesture “through concrete actions to promote lasting peace”, two days after accusing the neighboring country of the intrusion of more than 250 drones into its territory.
Last Saturday, the Defense Chiefs of Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire agreement with immediate effect on the common border. Both armies committed to avoiding provocations such as the displacement of troops in the border areas that have been the scene of the historic territorial dispute, as well as to guarantee the safe return of the displaced.
Until Friday, according to official data, at least 43 civilians and 24 soldiers had died in Thailand, while 31 civilian deaths were recorded in Cambodia, which does not report casualties in the military sector even though numerous reports speak of dozens of fallen soldiers. The recent clashes broke out on December 7, after months of tensions and after the five days of fighting recorded at the end of July, which left fifty dead and where Thailand captured the aforementioned soldiers.
The fighting five months ago stopped after mediation by several countries, including the United States. The two Asian countries maintain a historical dispute over the sovereignty of several territories located on the border, mapped by France in 1907, when Cambodia was part of French Indochina.
