Days after the recent border conflict, Thailand has released two injured Cambodian soldiers captured during the clashes. Both countries are reportedly preparing for talks aimed at maintaining a fragile truce next week.
The Cambodian Defence Ministry confirmed the soldiers were returned on Friday through a checkpoint linking Thailand’s Surin province with Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.
This comes amid escalating diplomatic tensions and competing claims over the circumstances of their capture.
A spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said, “The wounded soldiers were returned through a designated border point,” urging Bangkok to repatriate the remaining captured troops “in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Notably, 18 other Cambodian troops captured during clashes on Tuesday remain in Thai custody despite a ceasefire reached earlier this week.
What do both sides claim?
According to Phnom Penh, the soldiers approached Thai positions with peaceful intentions to offer post-conflict greetings. However, Thai authorities dispute this, claiming the soldiers crossed into Thai territory with apparent hostility, prompting their detention.
The ceasefire has reportedly done little to suppress nationalist sentiments on social media, with platforms in both countries witnessing a surge in patriotic rhetoric and accusations.
Both governments have also taken foreign diplomats and observers on guided tours of the conflict zones, each side accusing the other of causing damage and using the visits to strengthen their respective narratives.
What happened during the conflict?
The five-day conflict saw clashes, Cambodian rocket fire, Thai air strikes, and artillery exchanges. Reports claim that more than 30 people were killed in the violence, including civilians, and displaced over 260,000 others.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, military officials from both sides are expected to meet in Malaysia between August 4 and 7 under the General Border Committee framework to discuss de-escalation. However, the longstanding territorial dispute will not be addressed in these meetings.
A Malaysian government spokesperson told reporters, “Defence attaches from other ASEAN countries will be invited as well as the defence attaches from the US and China.”
(With inputs from ANI)
