Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
15-12-2025
WASHINGTON. BANGKOK: US President Donald Trump has said the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia will halt fighting “effective this evening”.
Trump made the announcement after telephone conversations with the two leaders following deadly border clashes in recent days which have left at least 20 people dead and half a million displaced.
Neither Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul nor his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet has commented.
However, after his call with Trump earlier, Charnvirakul told a news conference that a ceasefire would only come about if “Cambodia will cease fire, withdraw its troops; remove all landmines it has planted”.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said both leaders “have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me.
“Both Countries are ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the United States of America.”
The long-standing border dispute escalated on 24 July, as Cambodia launched a barrage of rockets into Thailand, which responded with air strikes.
After days of intense fighting which left dozens dead, the neighboring South East Asian countries agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” brokered by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Since then, tensions continued to build.
This week, violence expanded into at least six provinces in north-eastern Thailand and five provinces in Cambodia’s north and north-west.
The two countries have been contesting territorial sovereignty along their 800km land border for more than a century, since the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.
Earlier, residents on both sides of Thailand’s and Cambodia’s border evacuated in droves on Monday as fresh clashes erupted, killing at least five people.
Both sides have each accused the other of starting the violence, which is the most serious confrontation between the two countries since they agreed to a ceasefire in July.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says his country “never wanted violence” but will “use necessary means to preserve its sovereignty”, while Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen accused Thai “invaders” of provoking retaliation.
Since May, escalating tensions between the neighbors have led to more than 40 deaths, as well as import bans and travel restrictions.
On Monday, the Thai army said its troops had responded to Cambodian fire in Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province, including by launching air strikes along the disputed border; while Phnom Penh’s defence ministry said it was the Thai forces that attacked first, in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.
At least one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians have been killed, and about a dozen wounded as a result of Monday’s fighting, according to officials on either side.
For Thai teacher Siksaka Pongsuwan, though, there are other, hidden victims of the clashes: the children living near the border, he warns, are “losing opportunities and… precious time” compared to their peers living in relatively peaceful cities.
Children bearing the brunt
Nearly 650 schools across five Thai provinces have been ordered to shut for safety reasons, Thailand’s education minister said, following the fresh tensions that have simmered since Sunday.
Meanwhile, videos on social media show chaotic scenes at schools in Cambodia’s border provinces as parents rushed to take their children home. (Int’l News Desk)
