KUALA LUMPUR — Senior officials from Thailand and Cambodia met in Malaysia on Tuesday for talks aimed at ending days of deadly border clashes. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted the discussions as ASEAN chair Malaysia pressed both sides to agree an immediate ceasefire.

The fighting, which erupted last week near the Preah Vihear temple and other disputed frontier zones, has killed dozens of soldiers and civilians and displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides. Each government has blamed the other for initiating the hostilities and for violating earlier informal understandings.

Malaysia, which holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship in 2026, offered to mediate after appeals from both governments and pressure from the United States and China. Anwar's office confirmed that the talks would focus on securing a truce and establishing mechanisms to prevent further escalation along the contested border.

The United States and China have both urged restraint, with Washington warning that continued fighting threatens regional stability and civilian lives. Humanitarian agencies reported overcrowded evacuation shelters in Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province.

"We have come here to seek peace and to protect the lives of our people," a Cambodian delegation spokesperson said, adding that both sides had agreed to keep negotiating.