Thailand, Cambodia begin truce talks as fighting continues

THAILAND and Cambodia's leaders opened peace talks yesterday in Malaysia, seeking a ceasefire after five days of combat along their jungle-clad frontier that has killed at least 35 people.

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More than 200 000 people have fled as the two sides fired artillery, rockets and guns in a battle over the long-disputed area, which is home to a smattering of ancient temples.

The flareup is the deadliest since violence raged from 2008-2011 over the territory, which is claimed by both sides because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.

Hours ahead of the talks, a journalist in the Cambodian city of Samraong - 17km from the fraught frontier - reported hearing a steady drumbeat of up to 10 blasts a minute.

US President Donald Trump - who both nations are courting for trade deals to avert the threat of eye-watering tariffs - intervened over the weekend, and said both sides had agreed to “quickly work out” a truce.