Thailand-Cambodia Clashes Persist Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Claim

By Staff, Agencies

Cambodia said Thai forces including fighter jets continued to strike targets across their disputed border hours after Donald Trump said both countries leaders had agreed to renew a truce brokered in October that has been strained by days of deadly clashes.

“Thai forces have not stopped the bombing yet and are still continuing the bombing,” the Cambodian ministry of information said. Thailand’s military countered with accusations that Cambodia was committing “repeated violations of international rules” by targeting civilian locations and laying landmines.

Trump announced the agreement to restart the ceasefire in a social media posting after calls with the Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, and the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” the US president said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

But neither the Thai nor the Cambodian leaders referenced the agreement in statements issued after the call, and Anutin said there was no ceasefire. When asked about Trump’s claim, Thailand’s foreign ministry referred reporters to his statement.

In a statement on Saturday on Facebook, Manet referred to the call with Trump and said Cambodia continued to seek a peaceful resolution of disputes in line with an earlier agreement signed in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in October.

Still, Manet said he advised the US and Malaysia to use their intelligence gathering capabilities to “verify which side fired first” in the latest round of fighting.

Thailand’s prime minister said Thai forces had “retaliated” against Cambodian military targets.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” Anutin Charnvirakul said in a Facebook post.

The original July ceasefire, brokered by Malaysia under Trump’s pressure, failed to stop ongoing propaganda and cross-border violence, leaving at least 20 dead this week.

The roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict stem from century-old territorial disputes, rooted in a 1907 colonial-era map and a 1962 international court ruling favoring Cambodia. Fighting has escalated with Thailand conducting airstrikes and Cambodia firing long-range BM-21 rockets.

According to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS, at least six Thai soldiers were killed by rocket shrapnel, while BM-21 rockets from Cambodia damaged nearby homes, and Thailand destroyed a crane near the historic Preah Vihear temple it said was used for military surveillance.