Cambodia (MNN) — Almost before a conflict really started, the clash between Thailand and Cambodia is over. A ceasefire between the two nations went into effect Monday at midnight.
The fighting broke out on July 24th after nearly two months of rising border tensions.
“It goes back to the French colonization of that part of the world, when they (France) gave up [its protectorate of Cambodia] and how they redrew the maps of the two countries,” said Joe Handley, president of A3. “Ever since, there’s been tension between these two sides.”
The ceasefire is a vital step toward peace, but its effects will take time to feel. At least 33 people lost their lives in the clashes. More than 130,000 on each side were displaced, according to Thai military and Cambodian defense sources.
The threat of war also stirred up concern among A3 friends who remember the 1970s “killing fields” of Cambodia.
“What I’m hopeful about is the church has oftentimes risen [on] occasions like these to be a source of hope in the midst of very difficult situations,” Handley said.
For example, a former warlord from Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge party came to Christ in recent years.
“His transformation has been miraculous, to the point where he became a lay pastor, and he went through a program that’s downstream from A3 called the School of Discipleship. That gave him training to kind of increase his capacity as a spiritual leader,” said Handley.
(Photo courtesy of Asian Access) School of Discipleship
Handley said this man has started dozens of churches in a region where many Khmer Rouge fled after Pol Pot’s fall.
“It’s bringing peace to that region,” he said. “That’s the kind of thing that we hope to see happen. People live in fear and dread right now, but when you get people like that [who] are fearless — they have a history, but they come to Christ — it can it can turn around a situation.”
Pray for more people like this former warlord to come to faith in Christ!
National director of A3 Cambodia, Meng Aun Hour, said, “Please pray for protection and [for a] stop [to] the fighting.”
Pray also for provision and gospel witness for the Thai and Cambodian people affected by the conflict. Pray that the ceasefire will be upheld.
Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Camille via Unsplash.
