Fighting raged Saturday morning along the Thailand-Cambodia border even after US President Trump, acting as a mediator, stated that he had reached an agreement both countries on a ceasefire.
Thai officials said they did not agree to the ceasefire, and Cambodia had no comment on Trump's statement. Instead, the Defense Ministry said Thai planes carried out the airstrikes on Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump's statement without elaborating.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Saturday that some of Trump's remarks “do not reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”
“We regret and are disappointed that some of the points made by President Trump affect the feelings of the Thai people and Thailand because we consider ourselves – and in fact are proud – the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region,” he said.
The latest large-scale hostilities were provoked skirmish 7 December wounded two Thai soldiers and broke the ceasefire promoted by Mr Trump, who ended five days of fighting in July over long-standing territorial disputes.
Heng Sinit/AP
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and came under pressure from Trump, who threatened to revoke trade privileges if Thailand and Cambodia did not agree. This was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia attended by Mr Trump.
Officials say nearly two dozen people have been killed in the fighting over the past week and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
The Thai military admits that 11 troops were killed, with an estimated 165 Cambodian soldiers killed. Cambodia has not announced military casualties but said at least 11 civilians were killed and 76 wounded.
Mister Trump, on Friday, after the conversation An agreement to renew the ceasefire was announced to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
“They have agreed to stop all shooting tonight and return to the original Peace Agreement made with me and them with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim,” Mr. Trump said in his “Social Truth” post.
Trump's statement came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin said after speaking with Trump that he had explained the reasons for Thailand's fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia being the first to stop its attacks. Thailand's Foreign Ministry later openly disputed Trump's claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday included the dissolution of parliament, so new elections could take place early next year.
Heng Sinit/AP 
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet also made no mention of a ceasefire in comments released early Saturday.
He said he had telephone conversations with Mr. Trump on Friday night and with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim the night before and thanked both “for their continued efforts to achieve long-term peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way possible,” Hun Mane wrote.
Thailand carried out airstrikes on what it said were strictly military targets, while Cambodia launched thousands of BM-21 medium-range missiles that caused chaos but caused relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can launch up to 40 missiles simultaneously to a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These missiles cannot be precisely targeted and land mainly in areas where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced on Saturday that BM-21 missiles struck a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who heard warning sirens and ran to the bunker for safety.
