THOUSANDS FLEE THAI-CAMBODIAN BORDER AS DEADLY CLASHES FLARE

Tue 09 December 2025:

Thailand launched air attacks along its disputed border with Cambodia on Monday as the two neighbours trade blame for renewed fighting.

Cambodia says Thailand’s military resumed attacks on Tuesday morning in border regions, killing at least seven people. Thailand says at least three soldiers killed in the attacks.

Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen has pledged that his country would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the Southeast Asian neighbours drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas.

In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from firing back on Monday, but overnight began to shoot back at Thai forces.

He wrote that a strategy of concentrating on where Thailand was advancing would allow Cambodia to “to weaken and destroy enemy forces through counterattacks”.

“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” said Hun Sen, who was Cambodia’s long-serving PM until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.

The Cambodian Education Ministry has announced the temporary closure of schools in part of Preah Vihear province along the border with Thailand.

All educational institutions in Choam Ksan district will suspend classes and teaching activities until further notice, the ministry said in a statement, “to avoid the danger … caused by the Thai artillery shelling”.

Cambodia says seven civilians have been killed since Sunday.

No space for diplomacy in current conflict: Thai foreign minister

Sihasak Phuangketkeow tells Al Jazeera that Cambodia is “not ready” for peace negotiations and that the current conflict provides no space for a diplomatic solution.

“Diplomacy will work when the situation provides the space for diplomacy,” the Thai foreign minister said. “I’m sorry to say that right now we don’t have that space.”

Thailand wants to see “a commitment” from Cambodia to negotiate peace, he said, without detailing what exactly that commitment would entail.

“Obviously, at this moment in time, they’re not ready. They say they’re ready on one hand, but their actions on the ground are entirely in the opposite direction.”

Although the ongoing hostilities and military operations are bringing losses to both sides, Phuangketkeow added that “we want the Cambodian side to show that they’re ready to stop what they’re doing – and then, of course, we can consider the prospect for diplomacy and negotiations”.

Over 21,000 Cambodians evacuated, deaths in 3 provinces: Interior Ministry

According to the Cambodia’s Interior Ministry how escalating clashes have affected civilians:

At least 21,219 people have been evacuated from Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey border provinces, with about half of the displacements – more than 11,000 people – impacting Oddar Meanchey.
The majority of schools in all three provinces have been closed.
One civilian death has been recorded in Preah Vihear province, along with three in Oddar Meanchey and three in Banteay Meanchey.
More than 1,000 inmates were relocated from Oddar Meanchey Provincial Prison to Siem Reap province amid the threat of Thai air raids.

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Evacuation centre established at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit

Our colleagues on the ground are reporting that an evacuation centre has been set up in the compound of the Chang International Circuit in Thailand’s Buri Ram province, a venue hosting MotoGP races.

The facility is now housing about 10,000 evacuees from Buri Ram, one of the border provinces affected by the fighting.

Many arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs. Despite the assistance, evacuees say they want to return home as soon as it is safe to do so.

What are officials from both sides saying?

Cambodia

Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen said his country waited 24 hours to honour the ceasefire and allow for evacuations before launching overnight counterattacks.

“Cambodia needs peace, but Cambodia is compelled to counterattack to defend our territory,” he said in a Facebook post, saying strong bunkers and weapons gave Cambodian forces the advantage in defending against an “invading enemy”.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry accused Thailand of “brutal and unlawful actions”.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s son, said late on Monday that Thailand “must not use military force to attack civilian villages under the pretext of reclaiming its sovereignty”.

Thailand

Military officials said there were clashes in five border provinces, and a Navy-led operation in its Trat province to expel Cambodian soldiers was expected to end soon. They said Cambodia was using artillery, rocket launchers and bomb-dropping drones to attack Thai forces.

“Thailand is determined to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and therefore military measures must be taken as necessary,” Defence Ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said.

Amnesty urges Thailand, Cambodia to take ‘necessary steps to protect civilians’

Amnesty International’s regional research director, Montse Ferrer, has said, “The resumption of hostilities around the Thailand/Cambodia border risks civilian lives, mass displacement and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure.”

“The Cambodian and Thai governments must take all the necessary steps to protect civilians in line with international humanitarian law and prevent any further risks to civilians,” Ferrer said in a statement.

“Amid concerning reports of civilian casualties on Monday, we urge the international community to pressure both governments to adhere to their obligations to minimize the impact of the conflict on civilians and civilian objects.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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