Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations as deadly border clashes enter
third day
[July 26, 2025]
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and SOPHENG CHEANG
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations Saturday
of fresh attacks as deadly border clashes entered a third day, leaving
at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced, as
international pressure mounted on both sides to reach a ceasefire.
Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages,
expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a
land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation.
Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its
northeastern border crossings with Cambodia.
Cambodian authorities reported on Saturday 12 new deaths, bringing its
toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, raising the
deaths to 20, mostly civilians.
The regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN,
is under growing pressure to defuse the situation between its two
members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the U.N.
Security Council called for de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a
peaceful solution.
The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has
been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and
brief. The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier
was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled
Thailand’s domestic politics.
Fresh attacks and rising tension
Cambodia's Defense Ministry condemned what it said was an expanded Thai
offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired
into multiple locations in the province of Pursat, calling the attack an
"unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.”
Ministry spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, said tensions flared in
the province of Koh Kong, where four Thai naval vessels were reportedly
stationed offshore and four others en route. She said the naval
deployment was an “act of aggression” that risked further escalation.
Maly Socheata said seven civilians and five soldiers were killed in two
days of fighting. Earlier, one man was reported dead after a pagoda he
was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets.
The Thai army had denied targeting Cambodian civilian sites and accused
Phnom Penh of using “human shields” by positioning their weapons near
residential areas.
Meanwhile, Thailand's navy, in a statement Saturday, accused Cambodian
forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, saying Thai
forces responded swiftly and “successfully pushed back the Cambodian
incursion at three key points”, warning that “aggression will not be
tolerated.”
Thai authorities also alleged several Cambodian artillery shells had
landed across the border in Laos, damaging homes and property. Lao
officials have not publicly responded to the claim.
The conflict has so far left thousands displaced.
Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday the clashes
had forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border
provinces to evacuate to safe locations, while Thai officials said more
than 131,000 people had fled their border villages.
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Displaced Cambodians receive water at the Battkhao Resettlement Camp
in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP
Photo/Anton L. Delgado)
Call to protect civilians amid claim of cluster bomb use
Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council and concerned
governments to press the Thai and Cambodian governments to abide by
international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect
civilians. Children have been harmed and Thai authorities have
closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons,
the rights group said in a statement Saturday.
Both sides have employed rocket and artillery attacks, and after
initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited
cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson in a
statement Friday said that such weapons could be utilized “when
necessary” to target military objectives. HRW condemned the use of
cluster munitions in populated areas.
Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon and Thai authorities had
previously used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in
February 2011 that left 20 people dead.
“Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to
international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,” John
Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a
statement. “Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize
protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Thai officials also acknowledged the use of F-16 jets and drones to
launch airstrikes.
UN urges ASEAN bloc to mediate
The U.N. Security Council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis
during its Friday emergency session, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris
Sangiampongsa said Saturday all 15 member countries called on both
sides to exercise restraint, halt attacks, and resolve the dispute
peacefully. They also supported ASEAN's role in mediating between
its two member states, he said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is the current
ASEAN chair, had earlier said Thailand and Cambodia were open in
principle to his ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Anwar has
tasked the country's foreign minister to mediate peace talks to halt
the fighting.
Maris said Saturday his country agreed in principle to the proposal,
but insisted that Cambodia must first show sincerity and cease
hostilities, adding that Thailand would continue to engage
constructively with Malaysia.
“Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict
peacefully and in accordance with international law,” he said,
urging Cambodia to “return to the negotiating table with sincerity
and in good faith.”
___
Associated Press writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck
in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this
report. Sopheng Cheang reported from Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia.
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