 "Prisoners go home: Thailand frees 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July as ceasefire sticks")
Amid escalating tensions and ceasefire claim between Cambodia and Thailand, Thailand on Wednesday freed about 18 Cambodian prisoner soldiers held for about five months as prisoners of war, days after a fresh truce between the nations ended weeks of continuous fighting along their respective territories.
The Southeast Asian conflict has been erupting between the two neighbours, with the latest round of fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing about a million.
The 18 war prisoners or soldiers, with short cropped hair, pale smile, and a waving gesture pressed together to the cheering crowds through the windows of a bus in the border province of Pailin, video from Cambodian state television showed.
The father of one of the soldiers, 51-year-old Voeung Vy, captured in early July told news agency AFP, “I am so happy. I can’t wait to see him. I miss him so much.”
He said he would welcome his son home in the capital, Phnom Penh.
According to the Defence Ministry of Cambodia about 18 soldiers were released safely and returned to their motherland.
Thailand’s foreign ministry also confirmed their repatriation, saying it was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”, according to a statement.
Families welcomed the soldiers
The Southeast Asian neighbours ended in a renewed military clash. The artillery bombardments and air strikes spread nearly to every border province gaining mutual trust.
The ceasefire was signed on Saturday, ending the renewed military clashes with artillery bombardments and air strikes.
Quick Reads
View AllThe conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.
They also agreed to allow civilians displaced from border areas by three weeks of fighting to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return the 18 captive Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which supported the soldiers’ repatriation as a humanitarian observer, welcomed their release.
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