Thailand and Cambodia agree to 'immediate' ceasefire

Phnom Penh (AFP) – Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an "immediate" ceasefire on Saturday, the two countries said in a joint statement, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes.

At least 47 people were killed and more than a million displaced in three weeks of fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets, according to official tallies.

The conflict spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.

"Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement with effect from 12:00 hours noon (local time) on 27 December 2025," said the statement signed by the two countries' defence ministers.

The truce applies to "all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas", it said.

Both sides agreed to freeze all troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, the statement added.

They also agreed to cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime, while Thailand is to return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours.

Thai Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit said that initial three-day window would be an "observation period to confirm that the ceasefire is real".

In a speech Saturday morning he called the truce "a door to a peaceful resolution" of the border issue.

Oeum Raksmey, 22, who was evacuated with her family from their home near the border to a shelter in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, said she was "very happy" to hear news of the ceasefire.

"If they stop fighting from now, I am very happy so that that people can return home," she told AFP by telephone.

"But I dare not return home yet. I am still scared. I don't trust the Thai side yet."

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