Reuters
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia on Monday, the Thai government said, even as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas.
Talks are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Monday, with acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai leading the Thai negotiating team, the government announced in a statement on Sunday night.
Malaysia, which chairs the ASEAN regional cooperation forum, has informed the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would also be attending the talks, the statement said.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand’s fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.
Hostilities resumed on Thursday and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade.
The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas.
Monday’s talks come after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week proposed a ceasefire and U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire.
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