Curfew imposed in Thai border province

Several Thai soldiers have been killed in renewed clashes with Cambodia.

Thailand has imposed a curfew in the southeastern province of Trat. The decision was made on Sunday (December 14) after clashes with Cambodia spread to coastal areas of the disputed border region. Two days earlier, US President Donald Trump said the two sides had agreed to a ceasefire. However, neither Thailand nor Cambodia has heeded that message so far. Reuters reports.

The two Southeast Asian neighbors have clashed several times this year. Old disputes have resurfaced after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border clash in May. The escalation of the conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

After announcing the curfew, Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri told a news conference in Bangkok, "The clashes continue. Cambodia must cease hostilities before talks can begin.’

On Saturday, the Thai army said it had destroyed a bridge it said was being used by Cambodia to transport heavy weapons and other military equipment to the area. It also targeted artillery already deployed in Cambodia’s coastal Koh Kong province.

Cambodia, meanwhile, has accused Thailand of attacking civilian infrastructure.

The curfew imposed by Thailand will apply to five districts in Trat province bordering Koh Kong. However, the tourist islands of Koh Chang and Koh Kood will be excluded. A curfew was also imposed in the country’s eastern Sakae province, which remains in force.

Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged heavy gunfire at several points along their 817-kilometer (508-mile) border since Monday, the most intense fighting since a five-day clash in July. The conflict ended with mediation by Donald Trump and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Trump said he had spoken with Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He said they had agreed to a "ceasefire of all kinds."

But on Saturday, Anutin declared, "We will stop fighting when the threat to our land and our people ends."