Fighting continued Saturday morning along the Thailand-Cambodia border despite US President Donald Trump saying he had secured agreement from both countries to resume a ceasefire. Thai officials said they had not agreed to a ceasefire, and Cambodia had not publicly confirmed Trump’s statement; its defence ministry said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaboration.
The latest large-scale clashes were triggered by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a truce that had ended five days of combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes. That July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia after Trump threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed; it was formalized in greater detail at a regional meeting in Malaysia in October that Trump attended.
Nearly two dozen people have been officially reported killed in this week’s fighting, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border. The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed and estimates about 165 Cambodian soldier fatalities. Cambodia has not announced military casualties but says at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded. On Friday, after speaking with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Trump announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
