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Thailand suspends Cambodia peace deal after landmine blast
Thailand has suspended the implementation of a United States-brokered peace agreement with neighbouring Cambodia after a landmine blast near their border injured two of its soldiers.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said after Monday’s incident that all action set to be carried out under the truce will be halted until Thailand’s demands, which remain unspecified, are met.
“The hostility towards our national security has not decreased as we thought it would,” Anutin asserted. He did not elaborate on what Thailand’s demands were.
There was no immediate response from the Cambodian government.
Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia last month after territorial disputes between the two Southeast Asian countries led to five days of border clashes in July.
Those hostilities killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 civilians living along the border.
The Thai army said in a statement that Monday’s mine explosion in Sisaket province injured two soldiers.
Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said the army is still investigating whether the mine was newly laid.
Thailand has previously accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the truce, a charge that the Cambodian government denies.
Similar landmine explosions have occurred both before and since the deal, and tension has simmered.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Thailand should release 18 Cambodian soldiers, and both sides must begin removing heavy weapons and land mines from the border.
Natthaphon said Thailand will postpone the release of the Cambodian soldiers, initially scheduled for this week.
The two sides have reported some progress on arms removal, but Thailand has accused Cambodia of obstructing mine clearance.
Cambodia said it’s committed to all terms of the truce and urged Thailand to release its soldiers as soon as possible.
[Aljazeera]
The United States has struck Larak Island in southern Iran in the first attack against the country since late July, a US official has confirmed to Al Jazeera.
Tehran vowed to retaliate for Sunday’s attack. The strikes risk renewing the military confrontation as the US shifts from the bombing campaign to a financial pressure strategy as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month
The US official said the strikes targeted launchers that were set to fire rockets carrying mines towards the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Fars News Agency had reported that explosions were heard near the island. Later on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the attack by the “American-Zionist enemy”, saying that it resulted in the killing and injuring of several soldiers.
“This act will be responded to by the sons of Islamic Iran and will result in punishment of the aggressor,” the IRGC said in a statement.
In a statement shared by the news agency, IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi accused the US of making “a strategic and fatal mistake”, for which it will pay consequences “in both the economic and military arenas”.
In recent weeks, the US has been claiming control over the strategic waterway, saying that it is managing to get millions of barrels of oil through the strait under its military protection even as Iran blockades the waterway.
Still, attacks on ships in Hormuz have been reported almost daily, and Iran has maintained that the strait is closed.
Sunday’s strikes show that the US is still willing to use military force despite the focus on sanctions to pressure Iran to make concessions over its nuclear programme and claims of control over Hormuz
(Aljazeera)
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a reduction in the prices of Petrol 92 and Petrol 95, effective from midnight today (30).
The price of Petrol 92 has been reduced by Rs. 15 per litre, from Rs. 414 to Rs. 399 while the price of Petrol 95 Octane has been reduced by Rs. 20 per litre, from Rs. 495 to Rs. 475
There will be no change in the prices of diesel, Super Diesel and kerosene under the latest revision.
Latest News
UPDATE: Seven killed and 23 missing after boat capsizes off northern Cyprus, says Turkish Cypriot PM
Seven people have died after a passenger boat capsized near northern Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot PM says. Search and rescue operations are under way to find 23 people missing, says Ünal Üstel, the prime minister of the self-declared territory
He says 267 people were on board the vessel when it capsized, and 237 have been rescued
[BBC]
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