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 have been killed and more than a million displaced in the three-week battle with artillery, tanks, drones and jets, according to official figures.
The conflict spread to almost every border province on both sides, for which US President Donald Trump took credit.
“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signing this joint statement, effective from 12:00 noon (local time) on 27 December 2025,” said a statement signed by the defense ministers of the two countries.
The ceasefire applies to “all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructure, and military objectives of both sides, in all situations and in all areas”.
The statement said, ‘Both sides have agreed to suspend all troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible.
They also agreed to help fight mining efforts and cybercrime, while Thailand would return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours.
Thai Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit said the initial three-day window would be an “observation period to confirm the ceasefire is real”.
In a speech on Saturday morning, he called the ceasefire the door to a peaceful solution to the border problem.
Oum Roxme, 22, who was evacuated from her home near the border with her family in a shelter in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, said she was “very happy” after hearing the news of the ceasefire.
“If they stop fighting now, I’m very happy that people can go back home,” she told AFP by telephone.
“But I don’t dare go back home yet. I’m still scared. I still don’t trust the Thai side.”
– broken truce –
The ceasefire followed three days of border talks announced after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which both Cambodia and Thailand are members.
The United States and China also pressured their neighbors to end the war.
The conflict stems from a colonial-era territorial dispute over the demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where ancient temples are claimed by both sides.
Dozens of people were killed in five days of fighting between the two countries in July before a ceasefire brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia.
Trump oversaw the signing of an expanded agreement between Thailand and Cambodia in October, but it fell apart within months.
Each side blamed the other for provoking renewed fighting this month and accused civilians of attacks.
At least 25 Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian were killed in the latest round of clashes, officials said.
Cambodia, which has been outgunned and outgunned by Bangkok’s military, said 21 civilians were killed but reported no military deaths — even as its leader Hun Manet’s wife attended the funerals of troops killed in the battle, according to an official Facebook post.
– ‘final signature’ –
Fighting continued on Friday, with Cambodia accusing it of intensifying bombing of disputed border areas and Thai media reporting Cambodian attacks overnight.
The disputed temples are claimed by both nations due to an unclear demarcation by the French colonial administrators of Cambodia in 1907.
Those demarcations need to be resolved after the ceasefire.
But Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnwirakul struck an upbeat note on Friday night, announcing that the defense ministers of the two countries would meet the next day and potentially sign a ceasefire.
“You can trust Thailand. We always uphold our agreements and commitments. Let this be the final signature, so that peace can be restored and our people can return home,” he said.
Thailand will hold a general election on February 8.
bur- tym/mtp
