Thailand delays release ‍of Cambodian troops over alleged truce breaches | Conflict News

While the ceasefire has held since Saturday, Thailand says Cambodia violated the deal with drone flights over the border.

Thailand has said it is delaying the transfer of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers amid the Southeast Asian nations’ simmering border conflict due to alleged breaches of a renewed truce agreement, as the ceasefire passed the 72-hour mark that was supposed to trigger their release.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said on Tuesday that Bangkok had reconsidered the timing of the handover of the captured soldiers following the intrusion of Cambodian drones into Thai airspace on Sunday night.

“The consideration of date and time ‌of the release depends on the security side,” he said at a news conference, adding that the handover could “happen soon”.

Thailand’s military had previously accused Cambodia of violating the terms of the ceasefire over the drone issue, saying on Monday that more than 250 drones had entered its territory on Sunday night.

Asked about the delay in the soldiers’ ‌release, Cambodian government spokesperson Pen Bona said the situation was being monitored, and the government had no reaction yet, the Reuters news agency reported.

The handover of the troops, captured earlier in the latest outbreak of fighting between the two countries, was to have taken place if the ceasefire, which came into effect at noon (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, was observed for 72 hours.

The truce has held so far, halting ‍20 days of fighting that killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides, although the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a formal protest to Cambodia ⁠after a Thai soldier lost a limb on Monday in a landmine blast at a border area.

Landmine incidents were among the triggers for the latest outbreak of the conflict, which roared back into life last month after five days of fighting in July that were halted by a truce brokered by the United States and Malaysia.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said earlier on Tuesday that the ceasefire was fragile and needed both sides to avoid inflaming tensions.

“The ceasefire has only just been agreed, so there is fragility,” Sihasak told reporters. “We should avoid instigation or things that could diminish the ceasefire,” he said.

Many remain displaced despite ceasefire

Reporting from the Cambodian city of Poipet, near the border with Thailand, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said an uneasy calm had descended amid the ceasefire.

Hundreds of people had gathered in the heat, waiting for the distribution of essential aid amidst the truce.

While some Cambodians were returning to their homes, others said they were too scared or unable to.

“[Some] say they will stay put in the [internally displaced persons] camps because they’re still not certain that this ceasefire will hold,” he said.

“They’ve seen ceasefires before. They’ve seen them break down before.”

Others, he said, could not return home because Thai troops remained positioned in or near their villages, while for others, their homes had been destroyed in the fighting.

Under the terms of Saturday’s ceasefire agreement, the two sides agreed for their troops to remain in their current positions.

“Whilst there is calm … nobody here is calling this ceasefire stable or permanent yet,” said Baig.