Thailand frees 18 Cambodian POWs under ceasefire deal

AP :

Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian prisoners of war held for about five months, implementing a key provision of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending deadly clashes along the two countries’ border.

The release followed the ceasefire signed Saturday by the defense ministers of Thailand and Cambodia at the same border checkpoint linking Thailand’s Chanthaburi province and Cambodia’s Pailin province.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said the repatriation was carried out as a goodwill gesture and a confidence-building measure, in line with international humanitarian principles. Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said the move would help create conditions for peace, stability and the normalization of bilateral relations.

The detention of the soldiers had been a major obstacle to easing tensions after two rounds of fighting over disputed territory. Thailand maintained it was entitled under the Geneva Conventions to hold the prisoners until hostilities ended, allowing access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other protections.

Cambodia, meanwhile, had used the issue to mobilize domestic support during the standoff.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said the government had kept its promise that no soldier would be left behind. The freed soldiers were flown from western Cambodia to Phnom Penh, where they were reunited with emotional family members at the city’s old airport before being taken for a private meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet. Crowds outside the airport welcomed them, waving flags as the motorcade passed.

Under the ceasefire terms, the soldiers were to be released if fighting stopped for 72 hours after the truce took effect at noon on Saturday. Although the period elapsed on Tuesday, Thai authorities said they needed additional time to assess security conditions, citing drone activity along the border.

The two sides have given conflicting accounts of how the soldiers were captured on the day an earlier ceasefire took effect in late July. Cambodia said its troops approached Thai positions peacefully, while Thailand claimed they entered its territory with hostile intent. Of the 20 Cambodian soldiers initially captured, two were returned earlier for medical reasons.
The initial July truce was brokered by Malaysia and supported by pressure from US President Donald Trump, who warned of trade consequences if an agreement was not reached. Despite subsequent talks, tensions persisted, with renewed clashes in December. Thai officials said 26 soldiers and one civilian were killed in the fighting since Dec 7, along with 44 civilian deaths reported overall.