Cambodia called on Thursday Thailand on Thursday to give it 20 soldiers from its army captured several hours after the entry into force of the ceasefire that interrupted their deadly confrontations on the border.
The two neighbors agreed with a break in their fights having left at least 43 people dead. This started on the night of Monday to Tuesday after five days of fire exchange on their 800-kilometer border, against a background of territorial conflict.
Phnom Penh and Bangkok have accused each other of having broken this truce several times.
On Thursday, the Defense Ministry of Cambodia said that negotiations were underway for the release of 20 soldiers in the country.
“We call on the Thai part to send back to Cambodia the 20 soldiers as quickly as possible,” the ministry spokesperson said in a press conference, Maly Socheata, saying that they had been captured around 07:50 am on Tuesday (02:50 Belgian hour), almost eight hours after the entry into force of the ceasefire.
The Thai government assured Wednesday that these soldiers were treated in accordance with international humanitarian and military law, and that they would once be given the situation on the stabilized border.
Bangkok said that he had received no information reporting violent incidents overnight until 7:00 am (02:00 HB).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk urged the two countries to respect the ceasefire and quickly move towards peace, trying to “resolve the deep causes of the conflict”.
The clashes have officially killed 30 on the Thai side, including 15 soldiers, and 13 dead, including five soldiers, on the Cambodian side. More than 188,000 Thai people have evacuated risk areas, according to Bangkok, and more than 140,000 Cambodians have done the same, according to Phnom Penh.
