fighting

At least two people killed in clashes in northern city of Aleppo during Turkish FM Fidan’s visit to Syria.

Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to stop fighting in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks left at least two civilians dead.

Syria’s state news agency SANA cited the defence ministry as saying that the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fighters after the deadly clashes erupted during a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Fidan, whose country views the SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a ‘terrorist’ organisation, said on Monday that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honouring its pledge to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.

Following the SANA report on Monday evening, the SDF said in a later statement that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.

More to follow.

Planned talks come as Southeast Asian leaders urge both countries to show ‘maximum restraint’ and return to dialogue.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to hold a meeting of defence officials later this week as regional leaders push for an end to deadly violence along the two countries’ shared border.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow announced the planned talks on Monday after a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, who were trying to salvage a ceasefire.

That truce was first brokered by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Malaysia and United States President Donald Trump after cross-border fighting broke out in July.

Sihasak told reporters that this week’s discussions would be held on Wednesday in Thailand’s Chanthaburi, within the framework of an existing bilateral border committee.

But just hours after the regional crisis talks were held in Malaysia, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence said the Thai military deployed fighter jets to bomb areas of Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces.

The Thai army said Cambodia had fired dozens of rockets into Thailand, with Bangkok’s air force responding with air strikes on two Cambodian military targets.

Thailand and Cambodia have engaged in daily exchanges of rocket and artillery fire along their 817km (508-mile) land border following the collapse of the truce, with fighting at multiple points stretching from forested regions near Laos to the coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand.

Despite the cross-border fire, Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior said it remains “optimistic that the Thai side will demonstrate sincerity” in implementing a ceasefire.

Thailand’s Sihasak, however, cautioned that the upcoming meeting may not immediately produce a truce. “Our position is a ceasefire does not come with an announcement, but must come from actions,” he said.

His ministry said the two nations’ militaries would “discuss implementation, related steps and verification of the ceasefire in detail”.

The planned meeting comes as ASEAN on Monday urged both countries to show “maximum restraint and take immediate steps towards the cessation of all forms of hostilities”.

In a statement after the talks in Kuala Lumpur, ASEAN also called on both Thailand and Cambodia to “restore mutual trust and confidence, and to return to dialogue”.

ASEAN members also reiterated their concerns over the ongoing conflict and “called upon both parties to ensure that civilians residing in the affected border areas are able to return, without obstruction and in safety and dignity, to their homes”.

Renewed border clashes between Cambodia and Thailand entered a second week after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed to halt the deadly fighting.

Cross-border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has shown no signs of easing, after US President Donald Trump announced the two sides would halt attacks. The violence has killed dozens and forced mass displacement.

Dec. 13 (UPI) — Cambodian officials closed all border crossings from Thailand as fighting continues between the two nations despite a claimed cease-fire.

The Cambodian Defense Ministry said Thai forces had not stopped bombing targets in Cambodia on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The border crossings with Thailand will remain closed until further notice, ministry officials said.

President Donald Trump on Friday night announced a cease-fire agreement had been reached between Thai and Cambodian officials after he spoke with them.

They agreed to “cease shooting effective this evening” and resume an agreement signed in October, Trump said in a social media post, adding that “both countries are ready for peace,” as reported by the BBC.

Leaders from the respective nations did not say they reached a cease-fire, though.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnivirakul said, as reported by The New York Times.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet confirmed speaking with Trump regarding a cease-fire but did not say an agreement had been reached.

Officials in both nations reported that bombing and artillery fire continued on Saturday, and Thai officials told media that four of the nation’s soldiers had been killed.

Thai officials said a rocket attack launched from Cambodia injured several civilians, while the four military deaths raised the total since Monday to 15, along with 270 wounded and six civilians injured.

Cambodian officials have not updated that nation’s casualty reports for Saturday after reporting Thai fighter-bombers struck hotels and a bridge. They said 11 civilians had been killed and 59 injured as of Friday.

The fighting forced the evacuation of an estimated 700,000 civilians on both sides of the Thai-Cambodia border, which extends about 500 miles from Laos in the East to the Gulf of Thailand in the west.

Fighting between Cambodia and Thailand has entered its fifth day, with Cambodia accusing the Thai military of continued shelling and Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirming that he is scheduled to speak with United States President Donald Trump.

Thai forces allegedly carried out new attacks in three Cambodian provinces in the early hours of Friday morning, according to Cambodian news outlet The Khmer Times.

The newspaper reported that Thai forces opened fire in the Ta Moan, Ta Kra Bei and Thmar Daun areas of Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.

It also reported Thai shelling in the Phnom Khaing and An Ses areas of the country’s Preah Vihear province, as well as the areas of Prey Chan Village and Boeung Trakuan in nearby Banteay Meanchey province.

No new casualties were reported following the renewed fighting.

At least 20 people have been killed across both countries, with nearly 200 more wounded, since fighting resumed on Monday.

An estimated 600,000 people have also been displaced on both sides of the Thai-Cambodia border since the breakdown of a peace agreement brokered by Trump in October.

In a Facebook post, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence also rejected as “fake news” a claim from the Thai military that it was using foreign mercenaries to operate suicide drones in its attacks on targets in Thailand.

“The Ministry of National Defence of Cambodia would like to reject propaganda disseminated on the Thai 2nd Army Area Facebook page, which accused Cambodia of using foreigners to help launch FPV [first person view] drones in the Cambodian-Thai border conflict,” the ministry said.

Separately, the ministry also rejected accusations from Thai media outlets alleging that it was preparing to launch Chinese-made PHL-03 missiles in the border dispute.

The PHL-03 is a truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher that can fire guided and unguided rockets with a range of 70km to 130km (43.5 miles to 81 miles), according to a US military database, while Cambodia’s BM-21 Soviet-designed multi-rocket launchers have a range of just 15km to 40km (9.3 miles to 25 miles).

“Cambodia demands the Thai side to deliberately stop spreading false news in order to divert attention to its violations of international law by painting Cambodia as a pretext to use more violent weapons on Cambodia,” the Defence Ministry said.

The Southeast Asian neighbours accuse one another of reigniting the conflict that centres around a centuries-old border dispute along their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier, where both sides claim ownership over a smattering of historic temples.

The continued fighting involving artillery, fighter jets, tanks and drones comes as Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin confirmed he was scheduled to speak with President Trump at 21:20 local time (14:20 GMT) on Friday.

Trump promised on Wednesday to reach out to the leaders of both countries, saying he thinks he “can get them to stop fighting”.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Trump had yet to call the Thai and Cambodian leadership, but added that “the administration is obviously tracking this at the highest levels and is very much engaged”.

Thailand’s top diplomat Sihasak Phuangketkeow spoke with US counterpart Marco Rubio on Friday ahead of the planned call between Trump and Anutin, Thailand’s foreign ministry said.

Sihasak told Rubio that Thailand was committed to a peaceful resolution, but said sustainable peace must be backed up by actions and genuine commitment, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Rubio confirmed US readiness to constructively promote peace.

Anutin also said his decision to dissolve parliament on Thursday – earlier than expected – would not affect the management of the ongoing border conflict.

The move comes following a breakdown in relations between Anutin’s Thai Pride Party and the opposition People’s Party, the largest bloc in the Thai legislature.

Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said a legislative impasse had paralysed the government’s agenda, meaning Anutin’s party “can’t go forward in parliament”.

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed the dissolution, the country’s official Royal Gazette announced on Friday, making way for early elections.

The national polls must now be held within 45 to 60 days in Thailand.

Both sides have accused each other of violating international law as they await a promised phone call from Donald Trump.

Renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has entered its fourth day, with both sides accusing one another of violating international law, as they await a promised phone call from United States President Donald Trump.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence accused Thailand’s military of carrying out numerous attacks within the country in the early hours of Thursday morning, including deploying tanks and artillery to strike targets in the country’s Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, and Oddar Meanchey provinces.

In one such attack, Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of violating international humanitarian law by firing on civilians in Prey Chan village in Banteay Meanchey province.

In another, it accused Thai forces of shelling “into Khnar Temple area”, and said Thai forces had also “fired artillery and support fire into the O’Smach area”.

“Cambodia urges that Thailand immediately stop all hostile activities and withdraw its forces from Cambodia’s territorial integrity, and avoid acts of aggression that threaten peace and stability in the region,” the Defence Ministry said.

Clashes took place on Wednesday at more than a dozen locations along the contested colonial-era demarcated 817-kilometre (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, with some of the most intense fighting being reported since a five-day battle in July, which saw dozens killed on both sides.

Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior said homes, schools, roads, Buddhist pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by “Thailand’s intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30km [18.6 miles] inside Cambodian territory”.

“It should be noted that … these brutal acts of aggression of the Thai military indiscriminately opened fire targeting civilian areas, especially schools, and further destroyed Ta Krabey and Preah Vihear temples, the highly sacred cultural sites of Cambodia and the world cultural heritage,” it said.

The ministry added that, as of Wednesday, the death toll on the Cambodian side of the border stands at 10 civilians, including one infant, while 60 people have been injured.

Responding to the accusations, the Thai army said Cambodia had “intentionally” used a historical site as a “military base of operations” and therefore was guilty of violating international law.

“Cambodia intentionally used the ancient site for military operations, as a base to attack Thailand, and deliberately undermined the protection of the ancient site. Thailand retaliated as necessary,” the Thai army said.

Eight Thai soldiers have also been killed in the fighting so far this week, with 80 more wounded, it said.

Both sides have blamed one another for reigniting the conflict, which began on Monday and has expanded to five provinces across Thailand and Cambodia, according to a tally by the AFP news agency.

More than 500,000 Thai and Cambodian civilians have been forced to flee border areas due to fighting.

It was only on October 26 that Trump presided over the signing of a ceasefire between the Southeast Asian neighbours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hailing the deal, which was also brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Trump said mediators had done “something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done”.

Optimistic of securing another peace deal, Trump told reporters on Wednesday that “I think I can get them to stop fighting”.

“I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow,” he added.