Fighting along the border between Thailand and Cambodia continues to rage – despite US President Donald Trump claiming to have secured a ceasefire agreement.
Official reports indicate that around two dozen people have lost their lives in the past week, while hundreds of thousands of others have had to flee their homes.
The latest clashes erupted after a skirmish last Sunday, which disrupted a previous ceasefire that Mr Trump had pushed.
On Friday, Mr. Trump said the two countries “have agreed to cease all shootings effective this evening and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me” on his Truth Social platform.
Children fill containers with clean water at Chong Kal refugee camp in Cambodia. Pic: Reuters
But fighting has continued on Saturday, and Thai leader Anutin Charnvirakul said his nation would “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”
The Thai defence ministry said jets carried out airstrikes on Saturday morning.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet also did not mention a ceasefire in comments posted on Saturday, insisting his country was “ready to cooperate in any way that is needed.”
Why are Thai and Cambodian troops fighting?
The Thai-Cambodian border conflict has its roots in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims.
These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand argues is inaccurate.
Tensions were heightened by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still angers many Thais
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A ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Mr Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless the two sides agreed.
It was formalised in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that the US president attended.
However, the agreement did not resolve the status of the disputed territory, instead ushering in a tenuous ceasefire that ultimately failed to hold.
Fighting resumed on Sunday in a skirmish that wounded two Thai soldiers.
Smoke rises from a building following an explosion near the border between Thailand and Cambodia. Pic: Royal Thai Navy
The apparent faltering or collapse of the ceasefire deal comes as a number of the peace agreements Mr Trump has touted in his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize have come under strain.
Fighting has surged in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, less than a week after the DRC and Rwanda signed a deal in Mr Trump’s presence.
Meanwhile, an internationally-endorsed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is still not finalised and remains in limbo, with sporadic fighting continuing.
