Thailand and Cambodia sign ceasefire agreement after weeks of intense fighting

Thailand and Cambodia have signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of armed combat along their border over competing claims to territory.

It took effect at noon local time. As well as an end to the fighting, the agreement also calls for no further military movements by either side and no violations of either side's airspace for military purposes.

The ceasefire was holding, a Thai defence ministry spokesperson, Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, told Reuters around two hours after it went into effect at noon (5am GMT). Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence did not report any clashes after what it said had been a Thai airstrike early on Saturday before the ceasefire announcement.

The deal also calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

Read more from Sky News:Kyiv bombarded and Polish jets scrambled despite looming peace talksHimmler's grandson reveals what he thinks of Holocaust architect The agreement was signed by the two countries' defence ministers, Cambodia's Tea Seiha and Thailand's Nattaphon Narkphanit, at a checkpoint on their border after lower-level talks by military officials for three days as part of the already-established General Border Committee. For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km land border - a dispute that has occasionally exploded into skirmishes and fighting.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through after pressure from US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.

It was formalised in more detail at a regional meeting in Malaysia in October that Mr Trump attended. Despite those deals, the two nations carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating to widespread heavy fighting in early December.

Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the conflict since 7 December, according to officials. Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths from collateral effects.

Cambodia hasn't issued an official figure on military casualties, but says 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas affected on both sides of the border.

The two sides traded blame for starting the fighting and claimed to be acting in self-defence. The agreement also calls on both countries to adhere to international agreements against deploying landmines - a major concern of Thailand.

The new ceasefire will be monitored by an observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, as well as direct coordination between both nations, Mr Narkphanit said. "At the same time, at the policy level, there will be direct communication between the minister of defence and chief of the armed forces of both sides," he told reporters..