Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces has entered its third consecutive day, with violence escalating along new points of their disputed border, resulting in at least 30 deaths and the displacement of more than 130,000 people.
Both nations claim they acted in self-defence and have called on the other to halt hostilities and return to negotiations. Despite mounting diplomatic pressure, including a ceasefire proposal backed by the ASEAN bloc, sporadic exchanges of fire continue.
The latest clashes erupted early Saturday in Thailand’s coastal Trat province and Cambodia’s Pursat province — areas more than 100 kilometers from earlier confrontations. These new flashpoints signal a widening of the conflict, which was reignited by the death of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish in late May.
Thailand reports that seven of its soldiers and 13 civilians have died since the fighting began, while Cambodia’s Defence Ministry says five soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side. The violence marks the most severe cross-border conflict between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years.
In Sisaket, a Thai border province, a local university has been converted into an emergency shelter. Volunteer Samrong Khamduang, who fled her farm 10 kilometers from the front lines, said the sound of artillery forced her to leave. “My husband stayed behind with our livestock, but now I’ve lost contact with him. I don’t know what is happening back there,” she said.
Meanwhile, Thai Ambassador to the UN, Cherdchai Chaivaivid, told a UN Security Council meeting that soldiers were injured by newly planted landmines on Thai territory in July, which he claimed preceded an attack by Cambodian forces. Cambodia’s Defence Ministry rejected the accusations, stating that Thailand had launched “a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack.”
Cambodia has called on the international community to condemn Thailand’s “aggression,” while Thailand insists it prefers resolving the dispute through direct bilateral talks.
The decades-old conflict largely revolves around competing territorial claims along the 817-kilometre shared border, particularly over historic sites such as the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple and Ta Moan Thom. Although the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear to Cambodia in 1962, tensions flared in 2008 when Cambodia sought UNESCO World Heritage status for the site.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, current chair of ASEAN, said efforts for a ceasefire would continue. “There is still some exchange of fire,” he acknowledged, urging both sides to halt hostilities.
Despite diplomatic efforts, the path to peace remains uncertain as both sides continue to trade accusations and bolster military presence near the contested border.
