Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Military commanders along the turbulent Thai-Cambodian border agreed to a cease-fire on Thursday, a Thai military source told CNN.
A border dispute that turned violent over the last week remains volatile, and the hiatus was forged at the unit commander level but not the higher levels of the militaries.
The source, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak, said if the peace persists, higher-ranking people may meet on Friday.
They would be Thailand's 2nd Region commander, Lt. Gen Tawatchai Samutsakorn, and Lt. Gen. Chea Mon, Cambodia's 5th Army Region commander.
Cambodia's government spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Indonesia has offered to provide observers in the border area and help both sides resolve the crisis diplomatically.
Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta. Indonesia currently holds the chair of the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Natalegawa also said Thailand welcomes the deployment of an Indonesian observer team to the disputed area.
This idea was first agreed upon, in an emergency meeting of ASEAN's Foreign Ministers in February, also in Jakarta. The observers have not been deployed, after Thailand later stated their presence was not needed.
"I just want to reassure that Thailand will work very earnestly and in a very serious manner with Indonesia in the role of Indonesia as a great facilitator," said Piromya.
However, he maintained Thailand's position was on the defensive in recently renewed clashes with Cambodia.
"I just want to use this opportunity to once again reaffirm that the military action by the Thai side was only on the defensive side. We have not made any aggression. It was only (an) appropriate response to the conflict that was started by the Cambodian side," he said.
Natalegawa said he and Piromya were able to discuss terms of reference for the Indonesian observer team.
"I think it's quite fair to say that we have made a very good progress, and I could say that we are truly in the brink of confirming the agreement by all sides. Based on my conversation just now, I shall be circulating to both Thailand and Cambodia what I hope to be the final version of the Term of Reference for its immediate early adoption by the parties concerned."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging both nations to pursue "an effective and verifiable cease-fire."
Clashes between the two started Friday as they accused each other of trying to seize ancient temples.
Thailand calls the temples Ta Kwai and Ta Muen, while Cambodia calls them Ta Krabey and Ta Moan. Much of the border between the two countries remains in dispute.
Both sides claim the disputed temples are in their country.
Fighting flared up in February along another disputed border area between the two nations, prompting the U.N. Security Council to issue a statement calling on both sides to implement a cease-fire.
Those clashes stemmed from a longstanding conflict related to the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.
Both Cambodia and Thailand lay claim to the temple, which sits atop a cliff on Cambodian soil but has its most accessible entrance on the Thai side.
-CNN/ac
Fresh Thai-Cambodia clash shatters ceasefire
Posted on 29/Apr/2011
Thai soldiers stand guard
BANGKOK: Fresh fighting erupted on the Thai-Cambodian border, both armies said Friday, shattering a truce aimed at ending the bloodiest clashes between the neighbours in decades as the toll rose to 16.
One Thai soldier died and four were wounded in sporadic skirmishes that broke out hours after a ceasefire deal was agreed on Thursday, Colonel Prawit Hookaew, Thailand's northeastern army region spokesman, said.
"The situation is now calming but still tense," he added after the skirmishes flared overnight.
Fighting around two temples at the jungle frontier between the countries, now in its eighth day, has caused tens of thousands of people to flee from their homes.
"There was a brief clash early on Friday," Cambodian field commander Suos Sothea told AFP by telephone, without giving further details.
Nevertheless, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban indicated there might be a chance to salvage the truce.
"It's not considered a breach of ceasefire because they have used personal firearms. But if the clash expands with heavy weapons, that means the agreement is no longer valid," he told reporters.
Both sides had reacted cautiously to Thursday's peace deal, struck after talks among local commanders.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday that the agreement was a "good sign", but added that "we have to wait and see whether real peace has been achieved".
Thai and Cambodian commanders had agreed at the talks to reopen a border gate and "create a climate to allow civilians to return home", according to the Cambodian defence ministry.
Seven Thai troops and eight Cambodian soldiers have died since the clashes began last Friday. Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.
Heavy weapons fire has also strayed towards villages around the frontier, causing an estimated 45,000 people in Thailand and 30,000 in Cambodia to flee their homes.
Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence.
Cambodia claims that Thailand used spy planes and poison gas during the conflict -- an allegation denied by Bangkok.
The countries have come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence.
The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.
On Tuesday the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.
In February, 10 people were killed near Preah Vihear, which is 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the two ancient temple complexes at the centre of the latest clashes.
-AFP/ac
One Thai soldier died and four were wounded in sporadic skirmishes that broke out hours after a ceasefire deal was agreed on Thursday, Colonel Prawit Hookaew, Thailand's northeastern army region spokesman, said.
"The situation is now calming but still tense," he added after the skirmishes flared overnight.
Fighting around two temples at the jungle frontier between the countries, now in its eighth day, has caused tens of thousands of people to flee from their homes.
"There was a brief clash early on Friday," Cambodian field commander Suos Sothea told AFP by telephone, without giving further details.
Nevertheless, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban indicated there might be a chance to salvage the truce.
"It's not considered a breach of ceasefire because they have used personal firearms. But if the clash expands with heavy weapons, that means the agreement is no longer valid," he told reporters.
Both sides had reacted cautiously to Thursday's peace deal, struck after talks among local commanders.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday that the agreement was a "good sign", but added that "we have to wait and see whether real peace has been achieved".
Thai and Cambodian commanders had agreed at the talks to reopen a border gate and "create a climate to allow civilians to return home", according to the Cambodian defence ministry.
Seven Thai troops and eight Cambodian soldiers have died since the clashes began last Friday. Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.
Heavy weapons fire has also strayed towards villages around the frontier, causing an estimated 45,000 people in Thailand and 30,000 in Cambodia to flee their homes.
Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence.
Cambodia claims that Thailand used spy planes and poison gas during the conflict -- an allegation denied by Bangkok.
The countries have come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence.
The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.
On Tuesday the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.
In February, 10 people were killed near Preah Vihear, which is 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the two ancient temple complexes at the centre of the latest clashes.
-AFP/ac
