Thailand and Cambodia exchange fire in clashes that kill at least 9
civilians
[July 24, 2025]
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire on their border
Thursday in a sharp escalation of their conflict that killed at least
nine civilians.
Both nations accused each other of starting the military clashes and
have downgraded their diplomatic relations since Wednesday. Thailand
also sealed all land border crossings with Cambodia. Relations between
the Southeast Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply since an armed
confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier. Nationalist
passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation.
The Thai army said the most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province,
where six people were killed after shots were fired at a gas station. At
least 14 people were injured in three border provinces.
The Thai army said it launched airstrikes Thursday on ground military
targets in Cambodia, while the Cambodian Defense Ministry said the Thai
jets dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Both governments say they have to respond to the other's actions
Clashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border, Thai Defense
Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said. The first clash Thursday
morning happened in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along
the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey
province.
A livestream video from Thailand’s side showed people running from their
homes and hiding in a concrete bunker Thursday morning as explosions
sounded.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Cambodia has attacked both
military and non-military sites in Thailand, including a hospital.
“The Royal Thai Government calls upon Cambodia to take responsibility
for the incidents that have occurred, cease attacks against civilian and
military targets, and stop all actions that violate Thailand’s
sovereignty. The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our
self-defense measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and
violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty in accordance with international
law and principles,” said Nikorndej Balankura, the ministry’s
spokesperson.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country has always
maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems, but “we have
no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggression.”
Ambassadors are withdrawn and borders closed
Earlier Thursday, Cambodia said it was downgrading diplomatic relations
with Thailand to their lowest level, expelling the Thai ambassador and
recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok. That was in
response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the
Cambodian ambassador Wednesday to protest a land mine blast that wounded
five Thai soldiers.
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Thai people who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers
take shelter in Surin province, northeastern Thailand, Thursday,
July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunny Chittawil)
The Thai army said of Thursday's initial clash that its forces heard
an unmanned aerial vehicle before seeing six armed Cambodian
soldiers moving closer to Thailand’s station. It said Thai soldiers
tried to shout at them to defuse the situation but the Cambodian
side started to open fire.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry also said Thailand employed a drone
first before opening fire, and that Cambodia “acted strictly within
the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by
Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity.”
The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh posted on Facebook that there were
clashes at several border areas that could continue to escalate. It
urged Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country if they could
and advised others not to travel to Cambodia unless absolutely
necessary.
On Wednesday, a land mine blast near the border wounded five Thai
soldiers, one of whom lost a leg. A week earlier, a land mine in a
different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers
when one of them stepped on it and lost a foot.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths
that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. They said the
mines were Russian-made and not of a type employed by Thailand’s
military. Cambodia rejected Thailand’s account as “baseless
accusations,” pointing out that many unexploded mines and other
ordnance are a legacy of 20th century wars and unrest.
The border dispute has also caused political fallout in Thailand,
whose prime minister was suspended from office to be investigated
for possible ethics violations over the matter.
Border disputes are longstanding issues that have caused periodic
tensions between the countries. The most prominent and violent
conflicts have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice recognized Cambodian
sovereignty over the temple area in a ruling that became a major
irritant in the relations of both countries.
Cambodia went back to the court in 2011, following several military
clashes that killed about 20 people. The court reaffirmed the ruling
in 2013, a decision that still rattled Thailand.
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
contributed to this report.
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