Thailand cambodia border clashes intensify
Heavy fighting displaces thousands as both sides trade blame
Plumes of black smoke rose from a building in Cambodia after a Thai military drone dropped a bomb on a target, footage released by Thailand’s armed forces shows. Cambodian outlets reported a heavy Cambodian military presence in the area and said thousands of families on both sides of the disputed border had fled.
The strikes come amid renewed heavy fighting along the roughly 817-kilometre frontier, where artillery, rockets and small-arms fire have been exchanged across multiple sectors. Both Thailand and Cambodia blamed the other for initiating the latest clashes, which have produced levels of violence surpassing a five-day confrontation in July that left dozens dead and displaced many more. Local authorities reported that civilians and soldiers were among the fatalities, hospitals and emergency centres became overwhelmed, and whole villages were deserted as explosions and smoke rattled border towns.
Hundreds of thousands of people have moved into temporary shelters since fighting resumed, according to regional reports. The current outbreak follows the breakdown of a ceasefire pact known as the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord, signed with international backing in October and intended to include weapons withdrawals and joint monitoring; the accord faltered after a landmine explosion in November that injured Thai troops and heightened mutual distrust.
International concern has mounted. The U.S. president said he planned to speak with leaders of both countries to try to revive negotiations and broker a pause in hostilities, framing the outreach as an attempt to bring both sides back to the negotiating table. Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh, however, have been cautious: Thai officials characterize the dispute as a bilateral matter to be resolved directly, while Cambodia says it is willing to talk only once violence subsides and conditions for peace are in place.
Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the latest clashes that started this week, and traded accusations of targeting civilians in artillery and rocket attacks.
Regional bodies and neighbouring states urged restraint and a return to diplomacy, warning that prolonged clashes risk destabilizing Southeast Asia. Analysts cautioned that without renewed commitment to ceasefire terms and effective mediation, the cycle of confrontations and civilian suffering is likely to deepen.
