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Thailand and Cambodia Sign Border Ceasefire After Weeks of Fighting

A 72-hour monitoring window with ASEAN involvement will test compliance.

Overview

  • An immediate truce took effect at 12:00 local time on 27 December under a joint declaration signed by the defense ministers after days of talks at the PailinChanthaburi border crossing.
  • The agreement applies to all weapons, halts troop movements, bans strikes on civilian and military targets, and pledges conditions for displaced residents to return.
  • Thai authorities said the deal includes a 72-hour observation period with ASEAN-linked border coordination units, with plans reported for Thailand to free 18 Cambodian prisoners if the calm holds.
  • Death toll estimates range from at least 47 to more than 100, and roughly 900,000 to about one million people have been displaced; early reports indicated some evacuees began returning as the ceasefire held.
  • The truce follows a December escalation featuring mutual fire and Cambodian claims that Thai F-16s dropped up to 40 bombs, which Bangkok acknowledged as a defensive strike, while China invited both sides to follow-up talks in Yunnan to reinforce the halt in fighting.