Il Nuovo Postiglione - Thailand and Cambodia truce agreement comes into effect

Both sides agreed an "unconditional" ceasefire would start at midnight on Monday to end battling over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border.

In the Cambodian city of Samraong -- 20 kilometres from the border -- an AFP journalist heard a steady drumbeat of artillery strikes throughout Monday, before the blast sounds stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight.

Jets, rockets and artillery have killed at least 38 people since Thursday and displaced nearly 300,000 more -- prompting intervention from US President Donald Trump over the weekend.

The flare-up was the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.

The peace deal is set to see military commanders from both sides meet at 07:00am (0000 GMT), before a cross-border committee is convened in Cambodia to further salve tensions on August 4.

"When I heard the news I was so happy because I miss my home and my belongings that I left behind," Phean Neth told AFP on Monday evening at a sprawling camp for Cambodian evacuees on a temple site away from the fighting.

"I am so happy that I can't describe it," said the 45-year-old.

A joint statement from both countries, as well as Malaysia which hosted the peace talks, said the ceasefire was "a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security".

Both sides are courting Trump for trade deals to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs, and the US State Department said its officials had been "on the ground" to shepherd peace talks.

The joint statement said China also had "active participation" in the talks, hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN bloc chair Anwar Ibrahim in his country's administrative capital Putrajaya.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet thanked Trump for his "decisive" support, while his counterpart, Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said it should be "carried out in good faith by both sides".

"If they say they'll stop firing, they must stop completely," said 43-year-old Thai evacuee Prapakarn Samruamjit in the city of Surin.

- 'Highly tense' -

On the eve of the talks, Thailand's military said Cambodian snipers were camped in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets.

It said there was fighting at seven areas in the rural region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and fields where locals farm rubber and rice.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn marked his 73rd birthday on Monday, but a notice in the country's Royal Gazette said public celebrations scheduled for Bangkok's Grand Palace had been cancelled amid the strife.

Trump has threatened both countries with high levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals -- but said he would "look forward" to signing them once "peace is at hand".

Each side had already agreed to a truce in principle, while accusing the other of undermining peace efforts and trading allegations about the use of cluster bombs and targeting of hospitals.

Thailand says 11 of its soldiers and 14 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed only eight civilian and five military deaths.

However, the Thai military said it has returned the bodies of 12 Cambodian soldiers killed in combat.

More than 138,000 people have fled Thailand's border regions, while around 140,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.

With the skirmish enflaming nationalist sentiments, Thailand warned its citizens to "refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action" against Cambodian migrants living in the country.

burs-jts/ksb

O.R.Lucchese--INP