Thailand defies Trump and continues fighting with Cambodia, even though the US president had announced a ceasefire
Donald Trump PHOTO: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / Getty images / Profimedia
Thailand's acting prime minister has denied the existence of a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, despite US President Donald Trump claiming the countries have agreed to stop fighting, according to The Guardian.
Amid intense clashes in border areas, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that Thailand had not agreed to a ceasefire and that its forces would continue fighting. Cambodia has announced that it has suspended all border crossings with Thailand.
Thai forces carried out further attacks on Saturday, including with fighter jets, while Cambodia fired rockets at border areas. The Thai military announced that fire from Cambodian forces injured at least two civilians who were fleeing to a bunker.
More than 20 deaths have been reported in the past week's hostilities, and more than 500,000 people have been displaced.
Thailand claims 15 of its soldiers died, and 165 of Cambodia's. Cambodia, on the other hand, reported no casualties among military personnel, but claims that at least 11 civilians were killed.
Trump had announced that the sides had agreed to a ceasefire
Trump, who spoke with the prime ministers of the two countries on Friday, announced after the talks an agreement to cease fire and resume the July truce, but the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia did not mention any agreement in the communiques sent by the two sides, and Prime Minister Anuntin said that there is no such agreement.
The initial deal was brokered in July by Malaysia and came to fruition under pressure from the US president, who threatened to suspend trade privileges if Thailand and Cambodia objected. The agreement was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting attended by Donald Trump.
Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sovereignty for more than a century at various points along the 817-kilometer land border between the two countries, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was a colony, Reuters explains.
