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Thailand has accused Cambodia of “deliberately” violating a ceasefire the two countries had agreed on Monday to end border clashes that have killed at least 33 people and displaced thousands. <\/p>\n
It’s a shaky start for the ceasefire, which was meant to bring an end to five days of bombardment and rocket attacks along their shared border.<\/p>\n
The Thai military says it stopped firing after midnight, but that it continued to receive gunfire from the Cambodian side “at multiple locations” up until this morning. <\/p>\n
But Cambodia’s defence ministry told the AFP news agency that there had been “no armed clashes” between the two sides since the ceasefire began at midnight. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Despite the accusations, a meeting between local commanders – which was part of the ceasefire agreement – took place earlier on Tuesday. Both sides agreed to stop shooting and halt the movement of troops on the frontline. They will also allow each other to collect their dead. <\/p>\n
Tensions between the South East Asian countries over their century-old disputed border ramped up in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. <\/p>\n
They escalated into a full-scale conflict last week after five Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion. Thailand closed some of its border crossings, expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own from Phnom Penh. <\/p>\n
After the two sides exchanged gunfire early on Thursday, Cambodia fired multiple rockets into Thailand, killing several civilians. <\/p>\n
More civilians died on both sides in the following days, and tens of thousands more were evacuated to shelters. <\/p>\n
Intense exchanges of fire between the two armies continued up to midnight on Monday, the deadline for the ceasefire, with Thailand launching more air strikes on Cambodian positions. <\/p>\n
But on Tuesday morning, before Thailand alleged the ceasefire had been violated, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said that the “frontlines have eased” since midnight. <\/p>\n
Under the ceasefire agreement, both sides are meant to pull back their armies and accept some kind of independent monitoring to prevent further clashes.<\/p>\n
Hun Manet and his Thai counterpart Phumtham Wechayachai had met on Monday in Malaysia in a meeting brokered by its leader Anwar Ibrahim. <\/p>\n
An outgunned Cambodia had been pushing for a ceasefire and its leader called it a “very good meeting”. <\/p>\n
Thailand, which had initially been reluctant to negotiate, agreed to the talks after US President Donald Trump threatened to halt negotiations over tariffs until Thailand and Cambodia stopped fighting. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Relations between Thailand and Cambodia took a turn for the worse in 2008 when Cambodia tried to register an 11th Century temple located in the disputed area as a Unesco World Heritage Site – a move that was met with heated protest from Thailand.<\/p>\n
Over the years there have been sporadic clashes that have seen soldiers and civilians killed on both sides.<\/p>\n
When tensions ramped up in May, the relationship between the two countries hit its lowest point in more than a decade.<\/p>\n
In the past two months, both countries have imposed border restrictions on one another. Cambodia banned imports from Thailand such as fruits and vegetables, and stopped importing power and internet services.<\/p>\n
Both countries have also strengthened troop presence along the border in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n