LOC17:47
14:47 GMT
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 (KUNA) -- Thai Minister of Defense Natthaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha agreed a truce deal to end 20 days of deadly fighting along the joint borders.
Under the deal, both sides have to keep their forces at their current positions without any further deployments or military enhancements, according to a joint statement signed by the two military leaders on Saturday.
The two sides agreed to deescalate the tensions and pave the way for resolving the conflict through peaceful means.
They also agreed to exchange POWs and allow the displaced peopled to return to their respective homes in the border areas.
The deal, effective from 12:00 Saturday midday, (local time), is the fruit of three days of negotiations at a border area.
It ended 20 days of fighting that claimed 101 lives and displaced half a million people on both sides.
Last July, the border conflict broke out, and in early December the two sides reached a ceasefire deal that failed to hold. (end)
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