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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 80879, member: 636"] Two neighboring countries finally stopped shooting at each other. Thailand and Cambodia signed a new ceasefire deal, ending recent fighting over their disputed border area. The Thai Defense Minister, General Natthaphon Narkphanit, and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister, Tea Seiha, inked the agreement. Their meeting was part of a boundary committee session. This pact reinforces an older truce from earlier in the year and lays out sixteen steps to cool things down. A key part involves Thailand releasing eighteen Cambodian troops after three calm days. All fighting was supposed to stop by noon on a recent Saturday. The plan includes rules to limit where soldiers can go and asks both sides to avoid doing anything that might start trouble again. They also agreed to work together on removing landmines, recommitting to a major international treaty that bans those weapons. The broader regional group, ASEAN, with Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim leading it, praised the ceasefire. He said holding back forces helps protect regular people living in the area. This conflict has deep roots in old maps drawn during colonial times. Arguments over the land around an ancient temple, Preah Vihear, have caused problems for decades. A world court said the temple belongs to Cambodia, which Thailand accepts, but some public sentiment there still disputes it. A previous ceasefire, helped by the US and Malaysia, fell apart after a landmine hurt two Thai soldiers. The recent fighting created a humanitarian disaster, killing or injuring dozens of civilians and pushing hundreds of thousands from their homes. Regional foreign ministers had already demanded a stop to the violence and a return to talks before this new deal was reached. [/QUOTE]

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