Thai army accuses Cambodia of ceasefire violations

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Thai troops have retaliated ‘appropriately’ and in ‘self-defence’, Major-General Winthai Suvaree said in a statement.

Thailand’s army has accused Cambodia of violating an hours-old truce, saying sporadic clashes continued despite an agreement to end the deadly fighting in the disputed border region between the two Southeast Asian countries.

Thai troops have retaliated “appropriately” and in “self-defence”, Thailand’s army spokesman, Winthai Suvaree, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory,” Winthai said.

“This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust,” he added.

“Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defence.”

Following peace talks in Malaysia, both Cambodia and Thailand agreed that an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight on Monday to end the fighting in disputed zones along their 800km (500-mile) border, which killed at least 38 people in five days of clashes and displaced nearly 300,000 more.

The peace deal was set to see military commanders from both sides meet at 7am local time (00:00 GMT) on Tuesday, before a cross-border committee is convened in Cambodia to further ease tensions on August 4.

A Thai army spokesman said talks between both sides are now scheduled to be held at 10am local time (03:00 GMT).

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Surin province in Thailand, said the Thai military reported “a couple of clashes in several areas along the border”.

“They did issue a statement saying that the Cambodian military was not respecting the ceasefire agreement. But for the most part, it does seem to be holding,” Cheng said.

In Cambodia’s Samraong city, 20km (12.4 miles) from the border with Thailand, an AFP journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight on Monday, with the lull continuing until dawn.

“The front line has eased since the ceasefire at 12 midnight,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Tuesday morning message on Facebook.

A joint statement from both countries on Monday – as well as Malaysia, which hosted the peace talks – said the ceasefire was “a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security”.

The flare-up in cross-border fighting has been the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008 to 2011 over disputed border territory.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies