Reuters
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Thailand launched 18 Cambodian soldiers on Wednesday under an (*18*) agreed by the 2 nations on the weekend, authorities from each nations stated, easing tensions after weeks of lethal border clashes.
The Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to halt preventing at midday on Saturday, ending about 20 days of clashes that killed no less than 101 individuals and displaced greater than half one million civilians on either side. The preventing included fighter jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fireplace and artillery barrages.
Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata stated the soldiers had been transferred at a border checkpoint at 10 a.m. on Wednesday (10 p.m. Tuesday, ET), after 155 days in Thai custody. The governor of Cambodia’s Battambang province, Sok Lou, described the returnees as “heroic soldiers.”
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry stated the soldiers had been handled “in accordance with international humanitarian law and principles” throughout their time in detention.
The border clashes flared up once more this month after a earlier ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim collapsed.
As a part of Saturday’s deal to halt the preventing, Thailand agreed to launch the 18 soldiers in its custody if the ceasefire held for 72 hours.
However, the handover was delayed by in the future after Thailand made allegations of ceasefire violations by Cambodia, which Cambodia denied.
“Today’s release and repatriation of prisoners of war allows families to be reunited and marks an important step in translating the commitments outlined in the Joint Statement into action,” stated Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which supervised the handover.