Thailand returns 2 wounded soldiers to Cambodia but continues to hold 18
of their comrades
[August 02, 2025]
By SOPHENG CHEANG and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Friday welcomed the return of
two wounded soldiers who had been captured by the Thai army after the
two sides had already implemented a ceasefire to end five days of combat
over competing territorial claims.
Their repatriation comes amid accusations and bickering over whether
either side had targeted civilians and breached the laws of war, and
sharp nationalist feuding on social media.
The rest of a 20-member group of Cambodian soldiers captured on Tuesday
in one of the disputed pockets of land over which the two sides were
fighting remain in Thai hands, and Cambodian officials are demanding
their release.
The two countries have given differing accounts of the circumstances of
the capture. Cambodian officials say their soldiers approached the Thai
position with friendly intentions to offer post-fighting greetings,
while Thai officials said the Cambodians appeared to have hostile intent
and entered what Thailand considers its territory, so were taken
prisoner.
Cambodian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Maly Socheata confirmed that the
two wounded soldiers had been handed over at a border checkpoint between
Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, and
urged the Thai side to promptly repatriate the remaining personnel in
accordance with “international humanitarian law.”
Thailand says it has been following international legal procedures and
was holding the remaining 18 soldiers until it could investigate their
actions.
A statement issued Friday by Thailand’s 2nd Army Region identified the
two repatriated Cambodian soldiers as a sergeant with a broken arm and a
gash on his hip, and a second lieutenant who appeared to be suffering
from battle fatigue and needed care from his family. It said both men
had taken an oath not to engage in further hostilities against Thailand.
Neither man nor the others in Thai custody have been made available for
interviews by neutral third parties.
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In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), a Cambodian
soldier, center, is escorted by Thai soldiers as he arrives at O
Smach, Cambodian-Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia,
Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (AKP via AP)
The Cambodian Human Rights Committee, which is a government agency,
released a letter addressed to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human
Rights claiming that the two soldiers had been tortured and denied
medical care.
The letter, which offered no evidence to back up its claims,
demanded among other measures an “impartial investigation by the
United Nations or relevant international bodies” into its
allegations.
There were other peaceful activities on Friday on both sides of the
border as both countries staged tours of the former battle areas for
foreign diplomats and other observers, highlighting damage allegedly
caused by the other side. The two countries continue to accuse each
other of having violated the laws of war with attacks on civilians
and the illegal use of weapons.
More than three dozen people, civilian and soldiers, were killed in
the fighting, which in addition to infantry battles included
artillery duels and the firing of truck-mounted rockets by Cambodia,
to which Thailand responded with airstrikes. More than 260,000
people in total were displaced from their homes.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, military representatives of both
sides are supposed to meet next week to iron out details to avoid
further clashes. However, the talks are not supposed to cover the
competing territorial claims that are at the heart of decades-long
tension between the two countries.
Partisans of both sides are also waging a war of words online, with
Thailand accusing Cambodia of also carrying out malicious hacking.
Both countries' professional journalism societies have accused each
other of spreading false information and other propaganda.
___
Associated Press writer Jintamas reported from Bangkok.
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