Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders are to meet in Malaysia for peace talks today, the Thai government said, as the countries clashed for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute.
At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as the countries, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples.
Bangkok yesterday announced that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks mediated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the ASEAN regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members.
Photo: EPA
US President Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders yesterday, said they had agreed to “quickly work out” a ceasefire.
Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals.
“When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!” he wrote on social media.
Hun Manet said his country “agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces.”
The border dispute erupted on Thursday with jets, tanks and ground troops battling in the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.
Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths.
The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
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