Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire after five days of deadly border clashes. At least 35 people were killed and 270,000 displaced on both sides. The Malaysia-brokered truce follows talks involving US and Chinese diplomats.
Published On 28 Jul 202528 Jul 2025
Acting Thai Premier Phumtham Wechayachai accuses Cambodia of ‘not acting in good faith’ ahead of crucial talks.
A meeting to secure a ceasefire following days of a deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is under way in Malaysia, says a Malaysian official.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet are holding ceasefire talks on Monday in Malaysia’s administrative capital of Putrajaya at the official residence of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN.
The talks between the leaders of the two warring Southeast Asian countries are aimed to halt fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia border.
The ambassadors of the United States and China were also present at the meeting, the Malaysian official said on Monday, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, clashes continue in several areas along Thailand’s disputed border with Cambodia for a fifth day.
In a post on X earlier on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand.
However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: “We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.”
Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters earlier on Monday that fighting continues along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported.
On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province.
Thailand’s military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying “a lot of troops” and firing “heavy weapons” into the Cambodian territory.
Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand.
She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops “were able to successfully repel the attacks”.
Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand’s border province of Surin, said the mediators have been “very reluctant” to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital.
“The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,” Cheng said.
Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the “motivation” to resolve the crisis peacefully.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials “are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts”, while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an “immediate ceasefire”.
A roundup of some of last week’s events.
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The death toll on both sides now stands at 32, as fears grow of a larger conflict breaking out between the neighbours.
Cambodian officials have reported another 12 people killed as a result of the ongoing border dispute with Thailand, with the death toll on both sides now standing at 32, as fears grow that the Southeast Asian neighbours may become engulfed in an extended conflict.
Cambodian Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Maly Socheata told reporters on Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers were confirmed dead. One other Cambodian man was earlier reported killed when Thai rockets hit the Buddhist pagoda he was hiding in on Thursday.
At least 50 Cambodian civilians and more than 20 soldiers have also been injured, the spokesperson said.
Thailand has reported 13 civilians – including children – as well as six soldiers killed over the past two days of fighting. An additional 29 Thai soldiers and 30 civilians have also been wounded in Cambodian attacks.
Cambodian newspaper The Khmer Times, quoting officials in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, said about 20,000 residents have so far been evacuated from the country’s northern border with Thailand.
More than 138,000 people have also been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, with about 300 evacuation centres opened, according to Thai officials. On Friday, Thailand declared martial law in eight districts along the border with Cambodia.
The decades-old conflict – centred around a contested section of the Thai-Cambodian border – re-erupted on Thursday after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
Tensions spilled over on Thursday with Thailand and Cambodia carrying out direct attacks on one another’s territory, with both sides accusing the other of opening fire first.
Thailand said the Cambodian military launched long-range rockets at civilian targets in the country, including a strike on a petrol station that killed at least six people.
The Thai military then scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia, including the reported strike on the Buddhist pagoda, which resulted in one civilian casualty.
Cambodia has accused Thailand of using a large number of cluster munitions – a controversial and widely condemned weapon – calling it a clear violation of international law.
Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand’s acting prime minister, said on Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians, as well as damage caused to a hospital.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting focused on the clashes behind closed doors late on Friday in New York, but did not issue an official public statement after the meeting.
The Associated Press news agency, citing an unnamed council diplomat, reported that all 15 UNSC members called on the parties to de-escalate fighting, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully.
Desperate evacuees, huddled on plastic mats in a sports hall in Thailand, have described fleeing from thunderous artillery bombardments as heavy fighting has escalated between Thailand and Cambodia.
The worst fighting in more than a decade between the neighbouring countries has forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate from their homes across four Thai border provinces by Friday.
As artillery fire echoed on Thursday, thousands from northeastern Surin province abandoned their homes for makeshift shelters established in the town centre.
Nearly 3,000 people crowded the sports hall of Surindra Rajabhat University, packed onto rows of plastic mats covered with colourful blankets and hastily gathered possessions.
“I’m worried about our home, our animals, and the crops we’ve worked so hard on,” Thidarat Homhuan, 37, told the AFP news agency.
She evacuated with nine family members, including her 87-year-old grandmother who had just been released from hospital.
“That concern is still there. But being here does feel safer, since we’re further from the danger zone now. At least we’re safe,” she said.
Thidarat was babysitting at a local school when she heard what she described as “something like machinegun fire”, followed by heavy artillery thuds.
“It was chaos. The kids were terrified. I rushed to the school’s bunker,” she said.
Inside the shelter, evacuees slept alongside one another beneath the gym’s high ceiling, surrounded by electric fans humming and the quiet whispers of uncertainty.
Elderly residents lay wrapped in blankets, infants slept in cradles, while children played quietly. Pet cats rested in mesh crates near the public restroom.
This marks the first full activation of the university as a shelter, according to Chai Samoraphum, director of the university president’s office.
Classes were immediately cancelled, and within an hour, the campus transformed into a functioning evacuation centre.
Evacuees from four border districts were distributed across six locations throughout the campus.
“Most of them left in a hurry. Some have chronic health conditions but didn’t bring their medications, others only managed to grab a few belongings,” Chai told AFP.
The centre, with assistance from the provincial hospital, is providing care for those with chronic illnesses and offering mental health services for trauma victims, Chai explained.
The border fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand, including one soldier and civilians killed in a rocket strike near a Sisaket province petrol station, officials reported. One Cambodian has also been confirmed killed.
As fighting continues near the border, evacuees face uncertainty about when they can return home.
For now, the shelter provides safety and a place to await signals that it’s safe to “go back to normal life”, Thidarat said.
She already has a message for the authorities: “I want the government to take decisive action – do not wait until lives are lost.
“Civilians look up to the government for protection, and we rely on them deeply,” she said.
Across the border in Cambodia, about 20,000 residents have evacuated from the country’s northern border with Thailand, the Khmer Times news organisation said, quoting officials in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.
Escalation of military exchanges could move towards war, Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai says.
The death toll from clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops has risen to 15 in Thailand and one in Cambodia, according to authorities, as more than 120,000 people living along both sides of the border separating the two countries flee the ongoing fighting.
Deadly fighting continued for a second day on Friday as both countries traded heavy artillery and rocket fire, the bloodiest military confrontation between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade.
The escalation of military exchanges could move towards war, Acting Thai PM Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters on Friday. For now, the clashes have involved heavy weapons, he added.
The ongoing clashes have taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, up from six the day before, a Thai military official said on Friday, indicating a widening of the fighting. Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a military spokesperson, told a press conference Cambodia had continued to use heavy weapons.
“Thai forces have responded with appropriate supporting fire in accordance with the tactical situation,” the Thai military said in an earlier statement.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health reported that at least 14 civilians and one soldier were killed in Thailand when fighting broke out on Thursday, and a local provincial official in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey border province told the Reuters news agency that one person was killed and five wounded in Thai attacks.
More than 30 Thai civilians and 15 soldiers were also injured, according to Thailand’s Health Ministry, while some 100,672 people from four Thai provinces bordering Cambodia have been moved to shelters, Thailand’s Ministry of Interior was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
Arsit Sampantharat, the Thai Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary, was quoted by the country’s Channel 3 television channel as saying that more than half of those evacuated were from Surin province, while the rest were from the provinces of Sisaket, Buriram and Ubon Ratchathani.
Citing officials in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, the Khmer Times news organisation said that about 20,000 residents have evacuated from the country’s northern border with Thailand.
Shelling from Thailand was also reported before dawn on Friday, the Khmer Times quoted the Cambodian military as saying.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts claimed that Thailand’s strikes had caused “substantial damage” to the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, according to The Phnom Penh Post.
Diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency that the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the border fighting.
On Thursday, Thailand said it scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia, while Cambodian forces launched long-range rockets towards civilian areas along the Thai border, Thailand’s military said.
Both countries have blamed each other for starting the clashes in a disputed area of the border, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling.
The United States, a longtime treaty ally of Thailand, has called for an immediate end to the hostilities.
China, a close ally of Cambodia, said it was deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict and hoped that both countries “will properly solve their dispute through dialogue and consultation”.
At least 11 people have been killed in deadly clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border between both countries’ troops and involving heavy weapons, rockets and fighter jets on Thursday.
The outbreak of fighting between the South Asian neighbours follows weeks of tensions which have been brewing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation on the border. In February, a dispute over Prasat Ta Moan Thon, a Khmer temple close to the border in Thailand, intensified when Thai police stopped Cambodian tourists from singing their national anthem at the contested site.
Shelling damaged hospitals and other civilian locations in Thailand during Thursday’s fighting, resulting in deaths and injuries, according to statements from the government. Thailand said it had retaliated with air attacks, but it is not yet clear if there have been casualties in Cambodia.
Each side blames the other for launching the first attack, as they have cut diplomatic relations with each other. Thailand said it had closed all border crossings with Cambodia.
Here’s what we know about the clashes so far:
Armed fighting broke out on Thursday morning near the disputed, ancient Prasat Ta Moan Thom Temple in Surin province, Thailand, very close to the border with Cambodia, where tensions have been running high in recent weeks.
It’s unclear yet who fired the first shot, with each side blaming the other.
The Thai military accused Cambodian soldiers of “provocation”.
Cambodian troops deployed a surveillance drone at 7:35am (00:35 GMT) before soldiers with rocket launchers approached a Thai military post, according to the Thai military. Thereafter, Cambodian forces opened fire towards the eastern side of the temple, 200 metres (650ft) from the Thai military base, and also targeted a local community with rockets, the Thai military said.
Deputy army spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters that air attacks were launched in response, including six F-16 fighter jets which attacked sites over the border in Cambodia and reportedly destroyed two military targets.
However, Cambodian defence officials denied that their troops fired first and said the country only responded after Thai troops launched an “armed assault on Cambodian forces”.
Spokeswoman Maly Socheata accused Thailand of violating Cambodia’s territorial integrity and said Cambodian troops “exercised their right to defend their sovereignty” after Thai fighter jets dropped two bombs on a road.
At least 11 people have been killed in Thailand – mostly civilians – the Ministry of Public Health said. An eight-year-old child was among the dead.
Six people were killed and 10 were wounded in one strike when a Cambodian rocket hit a busy gas station in Sisaket province, the Thai army said in a statement.
Three other deaths were recorded in Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
It is still unknown if there have been any casualties in Cambodia.
Thai-Cambodia relations are at their worst in more than a decade.
The 818km (508-mile) border between the two countries has long been a source of tension and rivalry, as they both dispute demarcations drawn in 1907, during French colonial rule in Cambodia. There have been skirmishes before, but this is the first time fighter jets have been involved, marking a significant escalation.
The border areas are replete with centuries-old historical temples, some of which are claimed by both sides.
Although the establishment of a demilitarised zone has been discussed in the past, there are no formal zones in place now.
Troops from both sides clashed in 2011 near the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, killing 15-20 people and causing the displacement of thousands.
Cambodia first took the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1963. In 2011, Cambodia again went to the ICJ in relation to the Preah Vihear Temple. The ICJ ruled in Cambodia’s favour and handed it control of the immediate area around the temple in 2013.
However, the court did not address any of the other disputed areas, especially those within the “Emerald Triangle”, a shared border region between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, where troops also frequently clash.
Thailand has refused to acknowledge the ICJ’s jurisdiction in this issue. Tensions have simmered until this year’s escalation.
“The whole situation has been spiralling downwards for weeks, with Cambodia laying landmines that injured Thai soldiers, and Bangkok’s expulsion of the Cambodian ambassador was apparently the last straw,” Phil Robertson, director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates Consultancy, told Al Jazeera.
“So now the question is really how long will both sides continue fighting, and how many civilians will get killed in the indiscriminate crossfire that is already apparent,” he added.
Thailand’s acting premier, Phumtham Wechayachai, said in a statement on Thursday that the dispute was “delicate” and must be resolved according to international law.
Suspended Prime Minister Shinawatra – who is also the culture minister – condemned Cambodia, in a news briefing, for opening fire and accused the country of allowing the situation to escalate beyond diplomatic levels.
“We have always respected international protocols, but now Cambodia has forced our hand. We may have to take actions we have tried to avoid in the past,” she said.
For his part, Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, has urged an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to stop “Thailand’s aggression”. Manet said Thai forces launched “unprovoked, premeditated and deliberate attacks” on the Cambodian border, violating international law.
“Facing this flagrant aggression, Cambodian troops had no option but to respond in self-defence in order to safeguard Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Manet wrote in a letter to UNSC President Asin Iftikhar Ahmad.
“It is profoundly reprehensible that this act of aggression occurs while Cambodia is actively pursuing peaceful and impartial legal avenues to resolve outstanding border issues with Thailand through both bilateral and international mechanisms,” he added.
Both countries have closed borders and announced evacuations of their citizens from the border zones. The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh urged citizens to leave Cambodia.
The United States and China issued warnings to their citizens to be vigilant in the border areas.
The US embassy in Thailand urged Americans to heed advice from Thai authorities, who commenced evacuation from the worst-hit areas on Thursday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters at a news conference on Thursday that China is “deeply concerned” about escalating tensions between its neighbours, and stressed the importance of “maintaining friendly relations” with “long-term interests on both sides”.
China will “continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace and dialogue to help ease tensions”, the spokesperson said.
Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia and current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Thailand and Cambodia are members, said he would engage both sides in negotiations.
“I have sent messages to both prime ministers and look forward to speaking with them later today or tonight,” he told reporters.
“The least we can expect is for them to stand down and hopefully try to enter into negotiation,” Ibrahim said, calling the situation “worrying” and describing Thailand and Cambodia as key ASEAN members.
Robertson of AHRLA said the situation would likely “get worse before it gets better”.
Bad blood between Cambodian PM Hun Sen and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, respectively the fathers of both countries’ current leaders, could add to the political will to continue fighting, Robertson said.
Although Thaksin and Hun Sen were longtime allies, Robertson said Hun Sen’s leaking of the recording of the damaging phone call between him and Thaksin’s daughter, suspended PM Shinawatra, means “the gloves are now off between the two sides.
“Right now, neither side wants to be seen as conceding any ground to the other, so the fighting is likely to continue for some time, primarily in the form of firing across the border with artillery and firefights across the border in disputed areas,” he said.
Robertson added: “We’re not going to see either side invade the other, but the damage will be lasting and it’s hard to see how this will be mediated towards peace, at least in the short-to-medium term.”
A fragile ceasefire in Syria’s mainly Druze city of Suwayda appears to be holding after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a new truce on Saturday following a week of fighting. Gov’t forces deployed to clear Bedouin fighters out of the governorate.
Published On 20 Jul 202520 Jul 2025
Sectarian clashes have continued in southern Syria despite an “immediate ceasefire” announced by the country’s president.
Reports say that Druze fighters on Saturday pushed out Bedouin gunmen from the city of Suweida – but fighting continued in other parts of the province. This has not been verified by the BBC.
Government forces deployed earlier this week by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa were blamed for joining in attacks on the Druze. More than 900 people are reported to have been killed in the past week. All sides are accused of atrocities.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, demanded an end to “the rape and slaughter of innocent people” in Syria, in a post on X on Saturday.
Rubio wrote: “If authorities in Damascus want to preserve any chance of achieving a unified, inclusive and peaceful Syria free of ISIS [Islamic State] and of Iranian control they must help end this calamity by using their security forces to prevent ISIS and any other violent jihadists from entering the area and carrying out massacres.
“And they must hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks,” the top US diplomat added.
On Saturday evening, the Syrian interior ministry said clashes in Suweida had been halted after the intervention of its forces in the city.
Reuters news agency reported that fighting persisted in other parts of Suweida province.
Earlier this week, Israel declared support for the Druze and intervened, hitting government forces and the defence ministry in the capital Damascus.
Sharaa announced a ceasefire on Saturday as Syrian security forces were deployed to Suweida to end the clashes. The deal included a halt to Israeli military strikes and was approved by Israel as part of a US-brokered pact, as long as the Druze citizens were protected.
Government troops have been setting up checkpoints to try to prevent more people joining the fighting. But gunfire was reported inside Suweida earlier on Saturday.
A correspondent for AFP news agency said they had seen armed men looting shops and setting fire to them.
Also on Saturday, Israel’s foreign minister cast doubt on the renewed pledge by the president to protect minorities and all Syrians.
Suweida’s Druze community follows a secretive, unique faith derived from Shia Islam, and distrusts the current government in Damascus. They are a minority in Syria, as well as in neighbouring Israel and Lebanon.
In a social media post, Gideon Saar said it was “very dangerous” to be part of a minority in Syria, and “this has been proven time and again over the past six months”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to prevent harm to the Druze in Syria because of their ties to those living in Israel.
Watch: How a day of bombing unfolded in Damascus
Long-running tensions between Druze and Bedouin tribes in Suweida erupted into deadly sectarian clashes last Sunday, following the abduction of a Druze merchant on the highway to Damascus.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), 940 people have been killed since then.
The ceasefire between Israel and Syria on Friday was announced by US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack on Friday.
“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbours,” he said.
The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab, reporting from Syria, said violence towards the Druze has been spreading across the country.
Earlier this week, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said his office had received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses during clashes, including summary executions and arbitrary killings in Suweida.
Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Türk said in a statement.
“This bloodshed and the violence must stop,” he warned, adding that “those responsible must be held to account”.
In his comments on Saturday morning, the Syrian leader said that his government “is committed to protecting all minorities and sects in the country and is proceeding to hold all violators accountable from any party. No-one will escape accountability.”
Additional reporting by Jack Burgess
Syria’s government says it has cleared Bedouin fighters from the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda and declared a halt to the deadly clashes there, hours after deploying security forces to the restive southern region.
The announcement on Saturday came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups, following a separate United States-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention in the clashes.
Shortly before the government’s claim, there were reports of machinegun fire in the city of Suwayda as well as mortar shelling in nearby villages.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Nour al-Din Baba, a spokesman for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, said in a statement carried by the official Sana news agency that the fighting ended “following intensive efforts” to implement the ceasefire agreement and the deployment of government forces in the northern and western areas of Suwayda province.
He said the city of Suwayda has now been “cleared of all tribal fighters, and clashes within the city’s neighbourhoods have been brought to a halt”.
The fighting broke out last week when the abduction of a Druze truck driver on a public highway set off a series of revenge attacks and resulted in tribal fighters from all over the country streaming into Suwayda in support of the Bedouin community there.
The clashes drew in Syrian government troops, too.
Israel also intervened in the conflict on Wednesday, carrying out heavy air attacks on Suwayda and Syria’s capital, Damascus, claiming it was to protect the Druze community after leaders of the minority group accused government forces of abuses against them.
At least 260 people have been killed in the fighting, and 1,700 others have been wounded, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health. Other groups, however, put the figure at more than 900 victims.
More than 87,000 people have also been displaced.
The fighting is the latest challenge to al-Sharaa’s government, which took over after toppling President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Al-Sharaa, in a televised statement on Saturday, called on all parties to lay down arms and help the government restore peace.
“While we thank the [Bedouin] clans for their heroic stance, we call on them to adhere to the ceasefire and follow the orders of the state,” he said. “All should understand this moment requires unity and full cooperation, so we can overcome these challenges and preserve our country from foreign interference and internal sedition.”
He condemned Israel’s intervention in the unrest, saying it “pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability”.
After the president’s call, Bedouin groups confirmed leaving the city of Suwayda.
“Following consultations with all members of Suwayda’s clans and tribes, we have decided to adhere to the ceasefire, prioritise reason and restraint, and allow the state’s authorised institutions the space to carry out their responsibilities in restoring security and stability,” they said in a statement.
“Therefore, we declare that all our fighters have been withdrawn from the city of Suwayda,” they added.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Damascus said the Druze, too, seemed to have accepted the truce.
“Hikmat Al Hajri, a prominent spiritual leader, has called for all Bedouin fighters to be escorted safely out of Suwayda. Security forces from the interior ministry have been deployed to help separate rival groups, and oversee the implementation of the ceasefire. But there are still reports of ongoing fighting in the city, with some Druze leaders voicing strong opposition to the cessation of hostilities,” he said.
Vall added that while “there is hope” of an end to the hostilities, “there is also doubt that this conflict is over”.
Jordan, meanwhile, has hosted talks with Syria and the US on efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in Suwayda.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani and the US special envoy for Syria, Thomas Barak, “discussed the situation in Syria and efforts to consolidate the ceasefire reached around Suwayda Governorate to prevent bloodshed and preserve the safety of civilians”, according to a readout by the Jordanian government.
The three officials agreed on “practical steps” to support the ceasefire, including the release of detainees held by all parties, Syrian security force deployments and community reconciliation efforts.
Safadi also welcomed the Syrian government’s “commitment to holding accountable all those responsible for violations against Syrian citizens” in the Suwayda area, the statement said.
Countries around the world have also called for the truce to be upheld.
The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, said in a post on X that he was horrified by the violence in southern Syria and that “a sustainable ceasefire is vital”.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs stressed the need for “Syrian authorities to ensure the safety and rights of all segments of the Syrian people”, and called for investigations into abuses against civilians in Suwayda.
Japan also expressed concern over the violence, including the Israeli strikes, and called for the ceasefire to be implemented swiftly.
It added that it “strongly urges all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity, and respect its independence and sovereignty”.
US ambassador says truce was ‘supported’ by the US and ’embraced’ by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours.
Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, has announced, drawing an uneasy truce between the neighbours after days of air strikes and sectarian bloodshed in Syria’s southwestern Suwayda region.
Barrack said in a post on X early on Saturday that the ceasefire between Syria and Israel was “supported” by Washington and “embraced” by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours.
In his post announcing the ceasefire, Barrack said the US called “upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors “.
There has been no comment yet from Syrian or Israeli officials.
An Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters on Friday that in light of the “ongoing instability in southwest Syria”, Israel had agreed to allow the “limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours”.
On Wednesday, Israel launched heavy air strikes targeting Syria’s Ministry of Defence in the heart of Damascus, and also hit Syrian government forces in the country’s Suwayda region.
Israel claims it has launched attacks to protect Syria’s Druze minority in Suwayda, where ethnically charged clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have reportedly left hundreds dead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Druze, who number about one million in Syria – mostly concentrated in Suwayda – and 150,000 in Israel, as “brothers”.
A ceasefire agreement mediated by the US, Turkiye and Arab countries was reached between Druze leaders and the Syrian government on Wednesday. Israel, however, launched air strikes on Syria the same day, killing at least three people and wounding 34 others.
Following the Israeli attacks, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a televised speech early on Thursday that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights was a priority, and though Syria would prefer to avoid a conflict with Israel, it was not afraid of war.
Al-Sharaa added that Syria would overcome attempts by Israel to tear the country apart through its aggression.
Heavy fighting again flared up between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda on Friday, and Damascus has redeployed a dedicated force to restore calm in the Druze-majority governorate.
Heavy police presence at Faridpur rally after violence erupts between security forces and supporters of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina.
Authorities in Bangladesh have imposed heavy security measures to prevent a repeat of further political violence, after clashes between security forces and supporters of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left four people dead and more than 50 injured.
Hundreds of police were deployed Thursday to the site of a planned rally in Faridpur by the National Citizen Party (NCP), a new political party formed by students who spearheaded the unrest that ousted longtime leader Hasina last year, local media reported. Their presence underlined the volatile political tensions that remain in the divided country nearly one year on from the mass protests that toppled Hasina from power.
On Wednesday, an NCP rally in Gopalganj district, Hasina’s ancestral home and a stronghold for her support base, erupted in violence when supporters of her Awami League party tried to disrupt the event.
Four people were killed and more than 50 were injured in the violence, local media reported, citing police.
Footage from Gopalganj showed pro-Hasina activists armed with sticks setting upon police and lighting vehicles on fire as NCP leaders arrived in vehicles at the party’s “March to Rebuild the Nation” event commemorating the uprising against Hasina.
More than 1,500 police, along with army and border guard personnel, were deployed to respond to the violence, the Dhaka Tribune reported, citing a police report. Armed personnel carriers were seen patrolling the streets as security forces responded to the unrest.
The English-language Daily Star, citing Gopalganj civil surgeon Abu Sayeed Md Faruk, named the four dead as Dipto Saha, Ramzan Kazi, Sohel and Emon. The newspaper reported that hospital staff had said that eight others were being operated on for bullet wounds.
Home Affairs adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that 10 police personnel were also injured in the violence, local media reported. He added that 25 people had been arrested over the unrest.
The streets of Gopalganj were quiet on Thursday, with shops closed and few vehicles on the road, the Dhaka Tribune reported, as authorities imposed a curfew on the district in response to the violence.
The violence in Gopalganj has underlined the volatile divisions that remain in Bangladesh nearly a year after Hasina was forced to resign, fleeing to exile on a helicopter to India, as the interim government struggles to ensure security.
Wednesday’s clashes drew promises of a harsh response from the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus that has governed the country since Hasina’s ouster last August.
Yunus said in a statement Wednesday that the attempt by Hasina’s supporters to disrupt the NCP rally was “a shameful violation of their fundamental rights”, and warned that the violence would “not go unpunished”.
The government said on Thursday that it had established a committee to investigate the violence, which would be chaired by Nasimul Ghani, senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and report its findings within two weeks.
Despite its promises to crack down on those responsible, Yunus’s government has faced criticism for failing to deliver security in the divided country.
Hasina’s Awami League party, which authorities banned in May, posted a number of statements on social media platform X condemning the violence, including one saying that all the gunshot victims were supporters of the party. It blamed the interim government for the deaths and injuries.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one of two parties, alongside the Awami League, that have traditionally dominated Bangladeshi politics, also criticised the government on Thursday over the violence, saying it had failed to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party condemned the attacks on the NCP and announced protests of its own.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal indicted Hasina and two senior officials over alleged crimes against humanity linked to a deadly crackdown on protesters during the uprising against her rule. In a separate, earlier ruling, Hasina – who lives in self-imposed exile in India – was sentenced in absentia to six months in prison for contempt of court by the tribunal.
Authorities send troops to de-escalate the situation after fighting breaks out between Bedouins and Druze.
Fighting between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria has killed several people.
Sunday’s clashes are the first outbreak of deadly violence in the area since fighting between members of the Druze community and security forces killed dozens of people in April and May.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said at least eight people were killed, six Druze and two Bedouin.
Citing medical sources, local outlet Sweida 24 gave a preliminary toll of seven people killed, “including a child, and about 32 others wounded as a result of armed clashes and mutual shelling in the Maqus neighbourhood”, east of Sweida city.
It also reported the closure of the Damascus-Sweida highway because of the violence.
A Syrian government source, speaking anonymously to AFP news agency, said authorities sent soldiers to de-escalate the situation.
Sweida Governor Mustapha al-Bakour called on people to “exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform”.
Syria’s Druze population numbers about 700,000, with Sweida home to the sect’s largest community.
Bedouin and Druze factions have a longstanding feud in Sweida, with violence occasionally erupting.
Since the overthrow of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, concerns have been raised over the rights and safety of minorities under the new authorities, who have also struggled to re-establish security more broadly.
Clashes between troops and Druze fighters in April and May killed dozens of people, with local leaders and religious figures signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new government.
July 11 (UPI) — Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files has FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino contemplating resigning from his position, according to several news reports.
Bongino and Bondi clashed over the matter earlier this week after she said there is no list of client names to be made publicly available, CNN reported on Friday.
The clash occurred at the White House on Wednesday after Bondi also said evidence confirms Epstein committed suicide and was not murdered while jailed in New York City in 2019.
Unnamed sources told Fox News, Axios and CNN that Bongino has said he might resign due to the conflict and has not been in his office since Wednesday.
Bondi, though, has said she won’t resign, and FBI Director Kash Patel, likewise, intends to stay with the federal law enforcement agency.
“President Donald Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law-and-order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable and delivering justice to victims,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News.
“Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all,” Fields said.
Epstein was a financier and a convicted sex offender who was found dead inside a New York Metropolitan Correctional Center jail cell while awaiting trial on federal charges in August 2019.
He was pronounced dead of suicide after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Trump said he might release the information from files while campaigning in 2024, and Bondi suggested she would release information after becoming the nation’s attorney general.
The Justice Department on Monday announced there is no client list and no evidence that he was killed.
Reports of conflict between the Justice Department and the FBI are false, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday in a post on X.
As wind turbines on the horizon churn out clean energy, John Smyth bends to stack damp peat – the cheap, smoky fuel he has harvested for half a century.
The painstaking work of “footing turf”, as the process of drying peat for burning is known, is valued by people across rural Ireland as a source of low-cost energy that gives their homes a distinctive smell.
But peat-harvesting has also destroyed precious wildlife habitats, and converted what should be natural stores for carbon dioxide into one of Ireland’s biggest sources of planet-warming gas emissions.
As the European Union seeks to make Dublin enforce the bloc’s environmental law, peat has become a focus for opposition to policies that Smyth and others criticise as designed by wealthy urbanites with little knowledge of rural reality.
“The people that are coming up with plans to stop people from buying turf or from burning turf … They don’t know what it’s like to live in rural Ireland,” Smyth said.
He describes himself as a dinosaur obstructing people who, he says, want to destroy rural Ireland.
“That’s what we are. Dinosaurs. Tormenting them.”
When the peat has dried, Smyth keeps his annual stock in a shed and tosses the sods, one at a time, into a metal stove used for cooking. The stove also heats radiators around his home.
Turf, Smyth says, is for people who cannot afford what he labels “extravagant fuels”, such as gas or electricity.
The average Irish household energy bill is almost double, according to Ireland’s utility regulator, the 800 euros ($906) Smyth pays for turf for a year.
Smyth, nevertheless, acknowledges that digging for peat could cease, regardless of politics, as the younger generation has little interest in keeping the tradition alive.
“They don’t want to go to the bog. I don’t blame them,” Smyth said.
Peat has an ancient history. Over thousands of years, decaying plants in wetland areas formed the bogs.
In drier, lowland parts of Ireland, dome-shaped raised bogs developed as peat accumulated in former glacial lakes. In upland and coastal areas, high rainfall and poor drainage created blanket bogs over large expanses.
In the absence of coal and extensive forests, peat became an important source of fuel.
By the second half of the 20th century, hand-cutting and drying had mostly given way to industrial-scale harvesting that reduced many bogs to barren wastelands.
Ireland has lost more than 70 percent of its blanket bog and over 80 percent of its raised bogs, according to estimates published by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service, respectively.
Following pressure from environmentalists, in the 1990s, an EU directive on habitats listed blanket bogs and raised bogs as priority habitats.
As the EU regulation added to the pressure for change, in 2015, semi-state peat harvesting firm Bord na Mona said it planned to end peat extraction and shift to renewable energy.
In 2022, the sale of peat for burning was banned.
An exception was made, however, for “turbary rights”, allowing people to dig turf for their personal use.
Added to that, weak enforcement of complex regulations meant commercial-scale harvesting has continued across the country.
The agency also said 350,000 tonnes of peat were exported, mostly for horticulture, in 2023. Data for 2024 has not yet been published.
The European Commission, which lists more than 100 Irish bogs as Special Areas of Conservation, last year referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to protect them and taking insufficient action to restore the sites.
The country also faces fines of billions of euros if it misses its 2030 carbon reduction target, according to Ireland’s fiscal watchdog and climate groups.
Degraded peatlands in Ireland emit 21.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, according to a 2022 United Nations report. Ireland’s transport sector, by comparison, emitted 21.4 million tonnes in 2023, government statistics show.
The Irish government says turf-cutting has ended on almost 80 percent of the raised bog special areas of conservation since 2011.
It has tasked Bord na Mona with “rewetting” the bogs, allowing natural ecosystems to recover, and eventually making the bogs once again carbon sinks.
So far, Bord na Mona says it has restored approximately 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) of its 80,000-hectare target.
US President Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen in Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.
His border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News on Saturday: “We are making Los Angeles safer.”
The Californian city saw a second day of unrest on Saturday as residents of a predominantly Latino district clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agents. Tear gas and batons were used to disperse crowds in the Paramount district.
As many as 118 arrests were made in LA this week as a result of ICE operations, including 44 on Friday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the raids as “cruel”.
Paramount has calmed considerably but clashes between protesters and law enforcement are still happening.
The air is acrid – thick with tear gas and smoke outside the Home Depot where the protests first erupted.
LA county sheriffs are firing flash bangs and tear gas every few minutes trying to clear protesters away.
Neighbours and protesters say there are migrants locked inside local businesses afraid to come out.
A White House press release said: “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California.
“These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens. That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Speaking in Los Angeles, where he had travelled to personally supervise the continuing ICE operations, Homan said: “We’re bringing in more resources as we speak. We gonna bring the National Guard in tonight. We gonna continue doing our job.”
He warned that there would be “zero tolerance” of any violence or damage to private property.
In a post on X, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also issued a warning to protesters: “You bring chaos, and we’ll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.”
He said that “multiple arrests” had been made for “obstructing operations”.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth wrote on X that his department was “mobilising the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles”.
“And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilised – they are on high alert,” he added.
In a statement on Friday, Governor Newsom said: “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel.
“Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass earlier accused the ICE of “sowing terror” in America’s second largest city.
The FBI and Homeland Security chiefs said the mayor’s comments were endangering federal agents.
Angelica Salas, who leads the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, told a recent rally: “Our community is under attack and is being terrorised. These are workers. These are fathers. These are mothers. And this has to stop.”
The US president has the authority to deploy the National Guard for certain purposes which include “suppressing rebellion”.
But responding on Saturday, California’s governor said the federal government’s move to “take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers” was “purposefully inflammatory” and would “only escalate tensions”.
“LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” Newsom added.
Trump hit out at the governor on his Truth Social platform, saying that if he and Bass could not do their jobs, “then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
Some 491 were arrested in Paris during post-match celebrations after Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League win.
Two people died and hundreds were arrested in France overnight as football fans celebrated Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) stunning UEFA Champions League final victory, the Ministry of the Interior said.
The epicentre of the euphoria was in Paris, which was a theatre of car horns, cheers, singing in the streets and fireworks throughout the night following PSG’s 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan in Munich.
The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 491 people were arrested in the capital after crowds converged on the Champs-Elysees avenue and clashes broke out with officers.
Across France, a total of 559 people were arrested, it added.
The authorities reported two deaths amid celebrations. A man riding a scooter in Paris died after being hit by a car in the city’s southern 15th arrondissement, located about 2km (1.2 miles) from the Champs-Elysees.
In the southwestern town of Dax, a 17-year-old was fatally stabbed at a gathering feting the PSG victory, prosecutors said. His death occurred shortly after the match and “during the celebrations”, but the prosecutor’s office said it did not know whether it was related to the Champions League final. It added that the perpetrator was “on the run”.
The PSG team were to hold a victory parade on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday, with tens of thousands of supporters expected to gather to catch a glimpse of their returning heroes.
Overnight, though, AFP journalists saw police on the famed thoroughfare using water cannon to stop a crowd reaching the Arc de Triomphe that sits at the top of the Champs-Elysees.
“Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects,” police said in a statement.
Elsewhere, police said a car careered into fans celebrating PSG’s win in Grenoble in southeastern France, leaving four people injured, two of them seriously. All of those hurt were from the same family, police said.
The driver handed himself in to the police and was placed under arrest. A source close to the investigation said it was believed the driver had not acted intentionally.
The public prosecutor’s office said the driver had tested negative for alcohol and drugs.
The majority of fans celebrated peacefully, but police in Paris said scuffles broke out near the Champs-Elysees avenue, and around PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, where 48,000 people had watched the 5-0 win on giant screens.
Most of those arrested in the capital were suspected of illegally possessing fireworks and causing disorder, police said.
The PSG victory meant the club won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history.
PSG supporter Clement, 20, said: “It’s so good and so deserved! We have a song that talks about our struggles, and it hasn’t always been easy.
“But we got our faith back this year with a team without stars. They’re 11 guys who play for each other.”
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he would host the victorious players on Sunday to congratulate them.
In a message on X, Macron hailed a “day of glory for PSG”.
A total of 11.5 million people tuned in across France to watch the match, according to figures given by the Mediametrie audience-measurement company and one of the broadcasters, Canal+.
MANCHESTER UNITED endured a nightmare post-season tour in Asia including an embarrassing on-pitch display, a humiliating bus parade and unhappy players.
Following the club’s horror season, the decision to play two matches in the Far East to generate some extra cash was not a decision popular in the club.
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In fact, according to the Manchester Evening News, when the squad learned of that decision a delegation was sent to the club’s football leadership on behalf of the first team to express their dismay.
Some of the squad were said to be outright “fuming” about having to go on the six-day tour after a 60-game season, though with commercial duties taking up much of the agenda the trip effectively became a four-day event.
Players were said to be concerned about having to cancel holiday plans, including one who complained about being forced to cancel a family trip scheduled for the half-term week.
Club chiefs made a concession by bringing the departure time of their Malaysia flight forwards to Sunday evening, hour following the final game of the season against Aston Villa, after learning some players might try to “cry off” the 14,150-mile round trip to Malaysia.
However, the actual mood in the camp on tour was said to be a better than anticipated despite the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Some commercial player events including fan meet-and-greets are said to have taken up to two hours to complete as the local supporters lapped up the chance to see Man Utd in the flesh, including on the humiliating open-top bus parade which happened in Kuala Lumpur before the first friendly against ASEAN All-Stars.
Kit makers Adidas hosted a nocturnal poolside party at the W Hotel – where they stayed as part of their link with club sponsor, Marriott – following the 1-0 defeat to the All-Stars.
Several guests are said to have attended the meeting, with many “admiring” the view of the Petronas Twin Towers in the background.
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That came after players were said to have been using gallows humour on the team bus back to the hotel, which had followed some booing from fans there.
The rules on tour were more relaxed than a pre-season tour would be and players were given permission to head out on their first night in the city, with one star allegedly half-joking the trip would be “like a stag do”.
However, while some were tempted to go out into the city to enjoy the night, a senior star instead advised them to stay in.
Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Ayden Heaven were seen out on e-scooters, which had to be paid for by fans, while Joshua Zirkzee opted to enjoy some Thai take-out with a security guard after not being impressed by the room service options.
Club staff were also able to let their hair down in the trip, with some enjoying drinks on the 14-hour flight to the Malaysian capital.
On the eighth floor of the hotel itself there was a vending machine which dispensed £40 mini bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne.
The second leg of the tour saw them go to Hong Kong, but they were barely in the country 36 hours following an early-morning flight which then saw them spend an hour in their second W Hotel for lunch before getting on the team bus for training.
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Despite the glitz and glam of the 5-star establishment, things were sour away from the hotel with Amad and Garnacho seen gesturing their middle fingers towards fans and the latter doing so towards a club camerman.
Amad later revealed he had been subjected to insults about his mother from some fans.
Meanwhile, Garnacho – on the tour after being told to “pray” he finds a new club following a public dressing down in front of team-mates by Ruben Amorim – did the gesture without any clear provocation.
The 20-year-old was involved in a fan altercation while out in the city as the fan seemed to invade his personal space and also looked very unbothered during a shirt signing event.
He was described as “surly” during the trip, with club staff shadowing him closely as he signed shirts and posed for pictures without ever breaking into a smile.
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The Argentine was one of the last to board to team bus after the All Stars defeat and donned sunglasses as he ignored requests in the mixed zone.
One eyewitness claimed he removed his shades after getting through the packed pen, while Amorim later chuckled in a press conference when a reporter asked if there was any chance of Garnacho staying at the club.
Amorim, 40, is said to have told a colleague about how exhausting the post-season tour had been, especially in the humidity of Malaysia.
Man Utd finished their tour by beating Hong Kong 3-1 off a brace from Chido Obi and a late header from Ayden Heaven.
The club lifted the Defining Education Challenge Cup as a result of the win, but the trophy was so undervalued that a press officer carried it back to the dressing room.
In the first game back in Kuala Lumpur, Man Utd stars had been delayed in collecting their silver medals when the referee and linesman had returned to the dressing room before being called back out.
All in all the tour was estimated to generate around £10million for the club – which should at least leave the club’s financial department a little happier- although you would imagine a post-season tour next year may not be on the cards.
After the break a pre-season tour in Chicago is next, which is when the real work begins.
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