Thailand releases 18 Cambodian soldiers as ceasefire holds

Soldiers had been detained since July clashes

Cambodian

Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian soldiers it had detained since July, officials said.

The development came after the two countries declared a ceasefire on Saturday after 20 days of border clashes that killed at least 99 people, including civilians.

Thailand "repatriated the 18 detained Cambodian soldiers to Cambodia," said a statement from the Thai Foreign Ministry.

Separately, the Cambodian official news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse confirmed the return of the soldiers after 155 days in custody.

Under the ceasefire agreement, all 18 soldiers held since the border clashes in July — in which at least 48 people were killed — were to be returned to Cambodia if the ceasefire remained fully intact for the initial 72 hours.