Cambodia on Friday welcomed the return of two wounded soldiers who had been captured by the Thai army after the two sides had already implemented a ceasefire to end five days of combat over competing territorial claims.

Thailand's army sent home two Cambodian soldiers from a group of 20 on Friday, ahead of a key meeting in Malaysia next week where defence ministers and military commanders will hold talks aimed at maintaining a ceasefire along their disputed border.

Injured soldiers queue to have their wounds cleaned at a hospital, after the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to a ceasefire on Monday effective midnight, in a bid to bring an end to their deadliest conflict in more than a decade,