Updated on: December 8, 2025 / 1:01 AM EST / AP
Thailand carried out airstrikes Monday along its disputed border with Cambodia after both countries accused the other of violating a ceasefire that had paused fighting earlier this year.
The neighbors’ long-running border dispute flared into five days of combat in July that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker a truce in October, but tensions have remained high and clashes have continued intermittently.
Thai authorities said more than 35,000 people have left areas near the border for shelters, and many more are believed to have gone to stay with relatives. Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra, said residents of several border villages had been evacuated.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in a televised address, said military operations would be carried out as needed to defend the country and protect public safety. “Thailand has never wished for violence. I’d like to reiterate that Thailand has never initiated a fight or an invasion, but will never tolerate a violation of its sovereignty,” he said.
The ceasefire was strained in early November after Thai troops were injured by land mines, prompting Thailand to announce an indefinite suspension of implementation of the agreement. Both sides continue to trade accusations over responsibility even as they are supposed to be cooperating to remove mines.
U.S. mediation was invoked again in mid-November, when Mr. Trump said he intervened to preserve the ceasefire. Still, another brief episode of fighting occurred Sunday, after which each side blamed the other. The Thai army said Cambodian fire injured two Thai soldiers and that Thai forces returned fire in an exchange lasting about 20 minutes; Cambodia said Thai forces fired first and that its troops did not retaliate.
On Monday, Thai army spokesman Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian troops had fired into Thai territory in multiple areas, killing one Thai soldier and wounding four others, and that civilians were being evacuated. He said Thailand used aircraft “to strike military targets in several areas to suppress Cambodian supporting fire attacks.”
Cambodian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said the Thai military attacked Cambodian troops first on Monday and that Cambodia did not retaliate during the initial attacks. “Cambodia urges that Thailand immediately stop all hostile activities that threaten peace and stability in the region,” she said.
Regional leaders urged restraint. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for calm and offered support to avert further fighting, writing that the region “cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation.”
The modern dispute traces in part to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule, which Thailand has argued is inaccurate. In 1962 the International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty over the area containing the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, a decision that remains a sore point in Thailand.
The current ceasefire halted large-scale fighting but does not lay out a clear path to resolve the underlying disagreement over where the border should run, leaving the situation vulnerable to renewed clashes.