Updated Dec. 8, 2025 — Thai forces carried out airstrikes Monday along the contentious frontier with Cambodia after both sides accused one another of breaching a fragile ceasefire that had paused larger-scale fighting earlier this year.
The border confrontation flared into five days of combat in July that left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. A truce brokered in October by U.S. President Donald Trump eased the most intense clashes, but tensions have remained and sporadic exchanges have continued.
Thai officials say more than 35,000 people have fled border communities for official shelters, with many others reportedly staying with relatives. Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra, said residents of several villages near the frontier were evacuated as well.
In a televised address, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the military would act as necessary to defend Thailand and protect public safety, stressing that “Thailand has never wished for violence” and insisting the country would not tolerate violations of its sovereignty.
The ceasefire began to fray in early November after Thai troops were wounded by land mines; Bangkok then announced an indefinite suspension of steps to implement the agreement. Both governments continue to trade accusations over responsibility even as they are supposed to work together on demining.
U.S. mediation was sought again in mid-November, Mr. Trump said, to try to preserve the truce. Still, another short outbreak of fighting occurred Sunday, with each side blaming the other. The Thai army reported that Cambodian fire wounded two Thai soldiers and that Thai forces returned fire for about 20 minutes; Cambodian officials said Thai forces opened fire and that their troops did not retaliate in that incident.
On Monday, Thai army spokesman Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian units had fired into Thai territory in several places, killing one Thai soldier and wounding four; he added that civilians were being evacuated and that Thai aircraft struck military targets to suppress further fire. Cambodia’s Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata countered that Thai forces attacked first and that Cambodian troops did not respond to the initial strikes, urging Thailand to stop actions that threaten regional peace.
Regional leaders appealed for restraint. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote that the region “cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation” and offered assistance to prevent further escalation.
The modern dispute partly stems from a 1907 map produced under French colonial rule that Thailand has long 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 sensitive issue in Thailand.
The recent truce curtailed major combat but did not establish a clear mechanism to settle the underlying boundary disagreement, leaving the area vulnerable to renewed clashes and making stability dependent on fragile, intermittent cooperation.