BANGKOK: Thailand announced on Monday (Nov 11) it was suspending the implementation of a peace agreement with neighbouring Cambodia after a landmine blast injured two Thai soldiers near the border.
The deal, overseen by United States President Donald Trump, was meant to secure a lasting end to hostilities following border clashes in July that killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 civilians on both sides.
The Royal Thai Army said in a statement that the mine explosion in Sisaket province left one soldier with a severe leg injury, while pressure from the blast caused another to suffer chest pains.
Thai government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said that Bangkok will cease “the follow-up to the joint declaration”, meaning the accord with Cambodia inked in Kuala Lumpur in late October, months after the two sides had agreed on a ceasefire.
The next steps planned as part of the agreement’s implementation included the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers detained in Thailand.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told a press conference that “we thought that the security threat had eased, but it has not actually decreased”.
Cambodian authorities did not immediately comment on the incident, but have in the past denied Thai accusations of planting new landmines along the border.
Cambodia’s defence ministry pledged in a statement on Monday an “unwavering commitment” to peace.
The Southeast Asian neighbours have a dispute over parts of their border dating back more than a century, but July’s fighting was sparked by Thailand’s claims that Cambodia planted landmines that wounded its troops.
Source: CNA
