Overview
- The 18 soldiers crossed back into Cambodia at 10:00 am local time (03:00 GMT) through the Prum–Ban Pak Kard checkpoint linking Pailin and Thailand’s Chanthaburi under ICRC and ASEAN observation.
- They had been held for 155 days, with the release activated by a truce condition requiring 72 hours without renewed hostilities.
- Thailand postponed the transfer by one day over alleged ceasefire violations involving drones, a claim Cambodia rejected, and said the detainees were treated in line with international humanitarian law.
- The weekend ceasefire paused roughly 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than 500,000, with reports of airstrikes, artillery and drone activity along the border.
- Truce provisions include freezing troop movements, cooperating on demining and enabling civilian returns, while Cambodia has requested early January talks to continue border survey and demarcation work.