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Eighteen Cambodian soldiers have been repatriated after more than five months in detention Thailand.
The soldiers returned to Cambodia at around 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday through a key border checkpoint connecting Pailin province in western Cambodia with Cambodia. ThailandIt’s Chanthaburi.
The Purum-Bampakade permanent border checkpoint remains the only crossing point still in operation since fighting broke out at the border earlier this year.
The men were among 20 Cambodian soldiers captured in a trench in Preah Vihear province on July 29, just hours after the Cambodian Prime Minister and the Cambodian Prime Minister signed a ceasefire agreement the previous day. Thailand in Kuala Lumpur after five days of intense fighting.
Two of the soldiers were released shortly after due to serious health and mental problems, leaving 18 soldiers in Thai custody.
“The repatriation of the 18 Cambodian soldiers is an act of goodwill and confidence-building, and in compliance with international humanitarian principles,” Thailandthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Cambodian Defense Ministry said the release “creates an environment conducive to peace, stability and the full normalization of relations to the benefit of both countries and their people in the near future”.
The Cambodian soldiers were released after a new ceasefire was agreed over the weekend following meetings with Cambodian leaders. ChinaForeign Ministry officials halted nearly 20 days of renewed hostilities that have killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million civilians on both sides of the border.
The fighting included airstrikes, rocket fire and heavy artillery exchanges.
Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata confirmed the timing of the handover, saying the soldiers had been handed over after 155 days in detention. Battambang Governor Solu praised the returning troops as “heroic soldiers” and was warmly welcomed by officials and the public.
The latest ceasefire follows an earlier one brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and the prime minister of malaysia Anwar Ibrahim The collapse earlier this month led to another surge in violence along the disputed border.
The return of the detained soldiers is widely seen as a confidence-building measure that could help stabilize a fragile ceasefire and open the door to further diplomatic engagement between Cambodia and Cambodia. Thailand.