Thailand and Cambodia sign ceasefire agreement after weeks of intense fighting

Thailand and Cambodia have signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of armed combat along their border over competing claims to territory.

It took effect at noon local time.

As well as an end to the fighting, the agreement also calls for no further military movements by either side and no violations of either side's airspace for military purposes.

The deal also calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July.

Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

The agreement was signed by the two countries' defence ministers, Cambodia's Tea Seiha and Thailand's Nattaphon Narkphanit, at a checkpoint on their border after lower-level talks by military officials met for three days as part of the already-established General Border Committee.

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