Cambodia said Thai forces, including fighter jets, continued to strike targets across their disputed border on Saturday morning, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed to have brokered a ceasefire, according to Reuters.
“Thai forces have not stopped the bombing yet and are still continuing the bombing,” the Cambodian ministry of information said.
Conflicting Accounts
Thailand and Cambodia had agreed “to cease all shooting” effective Friday, Trump said after calls with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Premier Hun Manet on Friday night.
However, neither leader referenced an agreement in statements after the call, and Anutin said there was no ceasefire. When asked about Trump’s claim, Thailand’s foreign ministry referred reporters to his statement.
Thailand’s military countered with accusations that Cambodia was committing “repeated violations of international rules” by targeting civilian locations and laying landmines.
Cambodian Response
In a statement Saturday on Facebook, Manet referred to the call with Trump and an earlier discussion with Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim. He said Cambodia continues to seek a peaceful resolution in line with an agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur in October.
Manet said he advised the U.S. and Malaysia to use their intelligence gathering capabilities to “verify which side fired first” in the latest round of fighting.
Current Fighting
Since Monday, Cambodia and Thailand have been firing rockets and artillery at multiple points along their disputed 817-kilometer (508-mile) border, in some of the heaviest fighting since a five-day clash in July that Trump halted with calls to both leaders.
Previous Ceasefire Efforts
Trump intervened to rescue a truce that was expanded in October when he met the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers in Malaysia. The two sides agreed on a process to withdraw troops and heavy weapons and release 18 Cambodian prisoners of war.
Thailand suspended that agreement last month after a Thai soldier was maimed in incidents involving landmines that Bangkok says were newly laid by Cambodia. Cambodia rejects the allegations.
