( CNN ) -- Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to withdraw their troops from the area surrounding a disputed border temple , the official Thai news agency MCOT reported . The two countries reached a deal to implement an order by the International Court of Justice to put in place a `` provisional demilitarized zone '' around the Preah Vihear temple , MCOT cited Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh as saying at a news conference on Wednesday . Thai and Cambodian troops had clashed in the area around the temple earlier this year , displacing thousands of people on both sides and causing at least 20 deaths . A joint working group will be set up to discuss the rules governing the demilitarized zone , Banh said after meeting with the Thai defense minister , General Yutthasak Sasiprapa , in the Cambodian capital , Phnom Penh . The troop withdrawals , to be carried out as soon as possible , will be supervised by observers from Thailand , Cambodia and Indonesia , the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , Banh said . Cambodia had asked the International Court of Justice , the United Nation 's highest court , to intervene and order Thai troops out of the area . The court , instead , ruled in July that both sides must withdraw their troops to avoid more casualties . The 11th century temple sits atop a cliff on Cambodian soil but has its most accessible entrance on the Thai side . The two countries differ on whether some territory around the temple forms part of Thailand or Cambodia . The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962 . Thailand claims , however , that the 1.8 square mile ( 4.6 sq . km ) area around it was never fully demarcated . Thailand says the dispute arose from the fact that the Cambodian government used a map drawn during the French occupation of Cambodia -- a map that places the temple and surrounding area in Cambodian territory . In 2008 , the United Nations approved Cambodia 's application to have the temple listed as a World Heritage Site -- a place the U.N. says has outstanding universal value . The decision re-ignited tensions , with some in Thailand fearing it will make it difficult for their country to lay claim to disputed land around the temple .
Cambodia and Cambodia agree to implement a court order on a disputed temple . The deal follows clashes that displaced at least 20 and killed thousands . the United Nations order calls for both sides to withdraw troops . The countries differ on whether territory around the temple is part of Thailand or Thailand .