A Break in the Border Battle: Thailand and Cambodia Call a Truce

A temporary halt to the violence between Thailand and Cambodia has been agreed upon. Both nations have put their guns down, at least for now. The deal kicked in at noon on Saturday, with both sides promising to stop moving troops around and to keep their planes out of each other's airspace. Thailand has been doing most of the bombing, with strikes happening as recently as Saturday morning. The agreement also says that if things stay quiet for 72 hours, Thailand will send back 18 Cambodian soldiers it has been holding since July. But even as the ink was drying on the agreement, Thailand was already making new accusations. They said one of their soldiers got hurt by a land mine, which they blame on Cambodia. The deal was signed by the defense ministers of both countries at a border checkpoint. It's a follow-up to an earlier truce that was supposed to end fighting back in July. That truce was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from the U. S. But despite that deal, both sides kept fighting and arguing.The fighting has been tough on regular people. Thailand says 26 of its soldiers and one civilian have been killed since December 7th. They also report 44 civilian deaths. Cambodia hasn't given official numbers for its military losses, but says 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes because of the fighting. The agreement also talks about land mines, which have been a big problem. Thailand says its soldiers have been hurt by mines they believe were planted by Cambodia. Cambodia says the mines are leftovers from their civil war. The deal includes plans for both sides to work together to clear the mines. Both sides also agreed to stop spreading false information. They also talked about working together to stop online scams, which are a big problem in the region. Malaysia's leader, who helped with the original truce, said this new agreement shows that both sides know they need to restrain themselves, especially for the sake of civilians. But there are doubts about how strong this new agreement is. Thailand's Defense Ministry said the safe return of civilians to their homes would show that the situation is stable enough to send back the captured Cambodian soldiers.