Bangkok/Phnom Penh – Violence flared yet again along the Thailand-Cambodia border this week, with Thai air force jets launching strikes into Cambodian territory early Monday following a deadly exchange of fire. At least five people—including one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians—are confirmed dead, and tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes in some of the worst clashes between the two Southeast Asian neighbors since their July conflict.
Deadly Clashes Shatter Fragile Ceasefire
The fighting erupted around 2:15 p.m. on December 7 near the Phu Pha Lek–Phlan Hin Paet Kon area. Thai military officials reported that soldiers from the 13th Infantry Battalion came under small-arms fire from Cambodian troops, escalating when a recoilless rifle was discharged. Thai authorities claim the violence intensified after a soldier was killed and four others wounded; Cambodia, meanwhile, reported four civilian fatalities in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces due to Thai gunfire.
By Monday morning, airstrikes had been launched on Cambodian military positions. Thailand accused Cambodia of breaching a tense ceasefire—brokered as recently as October 26 in a deal witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who warned the renewed fighting risks “unravelling the careful work” to stabilize relations.
Communities Uprooted Amid Accusations and Diplomacy
The violence has led to mass evacuations on both sides. Reports cited 1,157 Cambodian families moved to safe areas, while thousands in Thailand’s Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani, Buriram, and Surin provinces have sought shelter in temporary camps. In Surin’s Phanom Dong Rak district, red zones around the Pha Lak cliff pass have been cleared amid fears that further violence could erupt. The constant sound of gunfire and artillery has left border residents living “in constant fear”, contemplating whether to seek safety again.
This week’s escalation is the gravest since July, when five days of rocket and artillery exchanges killed at least 48 and displaced some 300,000. The roots of the conflict lie in a generations-old dispute over stretches of the 817-kilometer border, first mapped by French colonial authorities in 1907. Tensions have repeatedly boiled over since May this year, when a Cambodian soldier was shot and a Thai solider lost a foot to a landmine.
Both sides have traded accusations—Thailand accuses Cambodia of planting new landmines (with seven Thai soldiers maimed since July), while Cambodia claims Thailand is once again acting as the aggressor, possibly to sway opinion at this week’s U.N. meeting on landmine treaties.
For now, the October ceasefire appears all but broken, with both armies on alert and border communities wondering when, not if, more violence will drive them from their homes yet again.
