Thailand and Cambodia ceasefire holds despite reports of skirmishes

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia appeared shaky but remained in place Tuesday as tensions lingered despite a truce agreement to end deadly border clashes following economic pressure from the U.S.

The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect at midnight on Monday, but was quickly tested. Thailand's army accused Cambodia of launching attacks in multiple areas early Tuesday, but Cambodia said there was no firing in any location.

While some spillover had been anticipated in the hours immediately after the ceasefire took effect, a Thai government statement late Tuesday said that a new clash had broken out at at one of the locations where there had previously been heavy fighting. The Thai army reported exchanges of gunfire into Wednesday morning but said there was no use of heavy artillery.

Jirayu Houngsub, a spokesperson for the office of Thailand prime minister, said in a text message to journalists that the Thai military “is currently responding and controlling the situation” at Phu Makhuea, a mountain in a disputed area next to Thaikand's Sisaket province.

Thailand's army had said the morning fighting stopped after military commanders along the border from both sides met. They agreed to halt troop movements, avoid escalation and establish coordination teams before a joint border committee meeting in Cambodia on Aug. 4, army spokesman Major Gen. Winthai Suvaree said.

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha said that he spoke to his Thai counterpart about “incidents” that occurred during the implementation of the ceasefire, but stressed that Cambodia's army abided by the truce. He said that Cambodian defense officials would lead a delegation of diplomats, foreign military attachés and others to observe the situation.

The Thai government separately said it has complained to Malaysia, the U.S. and China about Cambodia’s alleged breach of the ceasefire agreement.

There were signs of calm along the border, with some of the more than 260,000 people displaced by the fighting returning to their homes.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, had agreed on Monday to an “unconditional” halt in fighting, which has killed at least 41 people.

The meeting was hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as annual chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He called the ceasefire a “vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington applauded the ceasefire declaration.

“President (Donald) Trump and I are committed to an immediate cessation of violence and expect the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict,” Rubio said in a statement.

Hun Manet said Tuesday that Trump had called to offer congratulations for the peace move. He posted on social media that Trump pledged the U.S. would join the monitoring process along with Malaysia to ensure the ceasefire is implemented.

Trump also called Phumtham after his return to Bangkok. Phumtham said that Trump told him that Thailand’s talks with Washington to negotiate tariff levels on Thai exports could now proceed and that he would seek to make them as favorable as possible.

The ceasefire comes days before the U.S. is expected to announce new trade tariff decisions. Cambodia and Thailand have both been two of the hardest-hit countries as a result of Trump’s trade measures, with a 36% tariff on goods from both countries taking effect this coming Friday.

Trump had warned that the U.S. might not proceed with trade deals with either country if hostilities continued, giving both sides a face-saving justification for halting the clashes.

Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border. The fighting began Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.

Residents on both sides of the border expressed relief about the ceasefire, but remained wary, unsure how long the peace would last.

“I am very concerned that new fighting may break out. Thailand often provokes the fighting first, but then accuses Cambodia. Their aims is that they want to occupy our temples (along the border). I really don’t want to see any new fighting happen.” said Soklang Slay, as he helped his daughter move back into her home in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchay province, where heavy fighting had occurred.

Soklang Slay and his family dug a bunker to shield themselves from artillery when fighting started, but fled on the second day when bombings intensified.

In Thailand's Surin province, village chief Kritsada Jindasri said that he heard heavy firing and explosions Monday night before silence fell at midnight.

"We are still cautious. We still don’t totally believe (that it would stop). We still wait to assess the situation,” said Kritsada, who had stayed back along with 60 other community leaders after around 400 villagers evacuated last week.

His brother, Jirayu Jindasri, returned home after seeking refuge with relatives.

“I still don’t feel comfortable, because they just announced it for the first day. I’m not confident. If it breaks out again, I’ll have to go,” he said.

Analysts said that the ceasefire remains tenuous and politically complicated.

Kokthay Eng, a Cambodian researcher in history, politics and international relations, said that Trump’s “trade leverage and strongman mentality have helped save Thai and Cambodian people from further bloodshed.”

But he warned that the ceasefire may not last if the Thai government fails to secure lower U.S. tariffs.

“It is risky and will require clear markers to build traction,” Southeast Asian political expert Bridget Welsh said. “A proper border survey should begin immediately. Right now, it’s on pause because the roots of the conflict have yet to be addressed.”

Sopheng Cheang reported from Samrong, Cambodia. Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok, and Anton L. Delgado in Samrong, contributed to this report.

Kalwalin Jindasri who had fled home following the clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, arranges her belongings after returning home in Surin province, Thailand, Tuesday, July 29, 2025 after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect at midnight on July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Cambodian family sits on a tractor cart of as they return home from a temporary shelter in Prasat Roboeuk village, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect Monday night between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, center, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet left and Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai pose for photos after talks on a possible ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Kritsada Jindasri, top, Sommai Jindasri, left, and Jirayu Jindasri who fled their home following the clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers lift a motorcycle off a vehicle as they return home in Surin province, Thailand, Tuesday, July 29, 2025 after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect at midnight on July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Cambodian woman, Soklang Sareoun, 28, greets her dogs she returns home after five days in Prasat Roboeuk village, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, after a ceasefire was supposed to take effect Monday night between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Local villagers wait to receive supplies donated by a charity, in Srey Snam district, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Monday, July 28, 2025, amid the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

This image provided by the Thai Prime MInister's Office shows Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, center, with his staff listening during his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bangkok on Monday July 28, 2025, after returning from Malaysia, where he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet for peace talks which resulted in a ceasefire in the two nations' five days of fighting along their border over a territorial dispute. (Thai Prime MInister's Office via AP)

Local villagers help unloading supplies donated by a charity for refugees from a truck, in Srey Snam district, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Monday, July 28, 2025, amid the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

This image provided by the Thai Prime MInister's Office shows Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, center, with his staff listening during his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, in Bangkok on Monday July 28, 2025, after returning from Malaysia, where he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet for peace talks which resulted in a ceasefire in the two nations' five days of fighting along their border over a territorial dispute. (Thai Prime MInister's Office via AP)

Local villagers wait to receive supplies donated by a charity, in Srey Snam district, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Monday, July 28, 2025, amid the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.

“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

The law bars Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition,” the panel added.

Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.

Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson, called the ruling “a vindication of the rule of law.”

In a statement, she said the department will “work to enforce his lawful removal order” and encouraged Khalil to “self-deport now before he is arrested, deported, and never given a chance to return.”

It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.

In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil said the appeals ruling was “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve.”

He added: “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts.” He noted the panel’s finding concerned a “hypertechnical jurisdictional matter,” rather than the legality of the Trump administration’s policy.

“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he added, saying Khalil would remain free pending the full resolution of all appeals, which could take months or longer.

The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.

In the meantime, Khalil’s lawyers can request that the active judges on the 3rd Circuit hear an appeal, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested last March. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing his firstborn's birth.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil, 31, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.

President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.

Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level. He does not have a final order of removal, which would permit a challenge in an appellate court, she wrote.

Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.

The majority opinion noted Freeman worried the ruling would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.

“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments, the judges wrote. “To be sure, the immigration judge’s order of removal is not yet final; the Board has not affirmed her ruling and has held the parties’ briefing deadlines in abeyance pending this opinion. But if the Board ultimately affirms, Khalil can get meaningful review.”

The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported. His attorneys have argued that the federal order should take precedence.

That judge has suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.

His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.

Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this story.

FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)