Phnom penh: The Cambodian army began withdrawing troops from the border of Preah Vihear province, which borders Thailand's Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani provinces, last night after the two countries' leaders signed an agreement to extend a ceasefire.
According to Thai News Agency, Cambodia's Ministry of Interior released a video clip to the media showing Cambodian soldiers loading tanks onto trucks on the night of October 26th to return to their base. An ASEAN observer team was present to inspect the condition of the tanks. A Cambodian military officer disclosed that the troops will stop near Banteay Srei temple in Siem Reap province during their journey back. A spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Defense stated that the Cambodian army began a partial withdrawal according to the first phase of the withdrawal plan at 9:00 p.m. yesterday local time, which is the same time in Thailand.
The troop withdrawal followed the signing of a ceasefire agreement by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The agreement was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump, ahead of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.