BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand and Cambodia have begun withdrawing heavy weapons and conducting de-mining operations along their contested border as part of steps to de-escalate tensions following last week’s signing of an extended truce, Thai officials said on Monday.
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed an enhanced ceasefire deal last week in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump, three months after border tensions between the two countries exploded into a deadly five-day conflict.
Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said Thailand would not release 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held since the conflict or re-open border checkpoints until it assessed Cambodia was adhering to the agreement.
Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a Thai defence ministry spokesman, told a press conference that de-mining operations along the border have started, with Thailand proposing the removal of land mines in 13 areas and Cambodia in one.
On Friday, the two countries said in a joint statement that they had agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from the border in three phases, starting with rocket systems, followed by artillery and then tanks and other armoured vehicles.
On Saturday, the Cambodian defence ministry said the first phase of the withdrawal was scheduled to take three weeks from November 1.
“We expect the withdrawal of heavy weapons to be concluded by the end of the year,” Surasant said on Monday.
The two countries have also stepped up joint efforts to combat transnational cybercrime and were working on an urgent joint demarcation effort at disputed border areas, he said.
The five-day war in July killed at least 48 people and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands on both sides in what was the worst fighting between the two countries in decades. An initial ceasefire brokered in Malaysia with U.S. involvement was signed on July 28.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by John Mair)
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