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Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian soldiers held for five months as prisoners of war, days after a fresh truce between the nations ended weeks of deadly fighting along their contested frontier.
A decades-old border dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into military clashes several times this year, with the latest round of fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing more than a million.
Some of the 18 soldiers, with closely cropped hair, smiled, waved and gestured with their palms pressed together to cheering crowds through the windows of a bus in the border province of Pailin, video from Cambodian state television showed.
“I am so happy. I can’t wait to see him. I miss him so much,” 51-year-old Voeung Vy, the father of one of the soldiers captured in late July, said.
He said he would welcome his son home in the capital, Phnom Penh.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said the 18 soldiers were “released and safely returned to the motherland” through a border crossing on Wednesday morning after being detained for 155 days.
Thailand’s foreign ministry also confirmed their repatriation, saying it was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”, according to a statement.
Phnom Penh said it “remains hopeful that this release will significantly contribute to building mutual trust”.
Thailand had insisted it was allowed to hold the men under provisions of the Geneva Conventions governing the rules of war, which said they could be detained until the end of hostilities. The prisoners were allowed visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other rights covered under international humanitarian law, Thai authorities said.
Families reunited
The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed a truce on Saturday, ending renewed military clashes – with artillery bombardments and air strikes – that spread to nearly every border province on both sides.
Read moreThailand and Cambodia sign ceasefire agreement after weeks of deadly border clashes
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.
Under the truce signed on Saturday, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along their border.
They also agreed to allow civilians displaced from border areas by three weeks of fighting to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return the 18 captive Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.
Cambodia has said its soldiers were captured by Thai forces on July 29 – nearly eight hours after a ceasefire that halted five days of deadly clashes went into effect.
The two countries had given differing accounts of the circumstances of the men’s capture.
Cambodian officials say their soldiers approached the Thai position with friendly intentions to offer post-fighting greetings, while Thai officials said the Cambodians appeared to have hostile intent and entered what Thailand considers its territory and subsequently were taken prisoner.
There were originally 20 Cambodia soldiers taken captive, but two were repatriated within days for what were said to be medical reasons.
Five months on, it was unclear whether or when Bangkok would free the 18 men, after Thailand accused Cambodia of violating their most recent pact by flying more than 250 drones over its territory on Sunday night, and a three-day truce observation period ended Tuesday without an announcement of the soldiers’ release.
But notice came from Phnom Penh on Wednesday, with Cambodian information minister Neth Pheaktra confirming “our 18 heroic soldiers” had arrived back on Cambodian soil.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which supported the soldiers’ repatriation as a humanitarian observer, welcomed their release.
ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement that their return home allowed families to be reunited and built confidence between the two countries, “supporting the path to lasting peace”.
‘Lasting peace’
The United States, China and Malaysia had brokered a truce to end the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July, but the ceasefire was short-lived.
In October, US President Donald Trump jetted to Malaysia to oversee the signing of a follow-on declaration, touting new trade deals after the neighbours agreed to prolong their truce.
Read moreTrump attends Thai-Cambodian ceasefire ceremony before ASEAN summit in Malaysia
That pact said Thailand would “promptly release” the captured Cambodian soldiers, calling them “prisoners of war”.
But Bangkok suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.
While the two nations agreed on Saturday to stop fighting, they still need to resolve the demarcation of their disputed border.
Cambodia said on Monday it had called on Thailand to join a bilateral meeting in Cambodia in early January “to discuss and continue survey and demarcation work”.
But Bangkok said Tuesday that the task may need to wait for the next government, after Thailand holds general elections in February.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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