SURIN – Hostilities erupted once more on Saturday morning along the Thailand-Cambodia border, despite an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he had successfully brokered a ceasefire between the two nations.

Thai authorities have refuted claims of agreeing to a ceasefire, while Cambodian officials have yet to respond to Trump’s assertion. Cambodia’s defense ministry reported that Thai aircraft conducted airstrikes on Saturday, and local media echoed Trump’s ceasefire announcement without providing further details.

This recent escalation in conflict follows a December 7 skirmish that injured two Thai soldiers, effectively nullifying a previous ceasefire that Trump had mediated. That agreement had put an end to a five-day conflict in July, sparked by protracted territorial disputes.

The ceasefire in July was facilitated by Malaysia and enforced under the threat by Trump to revoke trade benefits if the two countries did not comply. This agreement was later formalized during a regional summit in Malaysia attended by Trump in October.

In the past week alone, the conflict has resulted in the confirmed deaths of about two dozen individuals, and has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.

Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.

Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin’s busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new elections could be held early next year.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.

He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”

“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,’ Hun Manet wrote.

Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.

BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.

However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.

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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.