PHNOM PENH, Dec 31 — Thailand today released 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July, both governments said, after a fresh ceasefire between the neighbours held for more than three days following weeks of deadly border clashes.

“I can confirm,” Cambodia’s information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP when asked if the soldiers had been released and re-entered Cambodian territory.

Thailand’s foreign ministry also confirmed the repatriation of the 18 soldiers to Cambodia, saying it was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”, according to a statement.

The South-east Asian neighbours agreed a truce on Saturday, ending renewed fighting at their border that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometre Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins. — AFP