A deadly clash between Thailand and Cambodia, simmering for several days, escalated into a deadly confrontation on Yesterday (Thursday), resulting the death of more than 15 people in which most of are civilians, according to Al-Jazeera
The tensions allegedly began after a firing incident on the border, and now the two countries are accused of worsening each other.
Origin of the conflict:
The history of the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia was a century old.
Cambodian and Thai troops engaged in deadly clashes on Thursday along their contested and heavily patrolled border, prompting evacuations of residents and unraveling diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors. Thai officials said that at least a dozen people were killed, The New York Times reports
The two countries have a long-running nationalist rivalry and military clashes have occasionally turned deadly. Here is a timeline of the tensions:
In 1907: The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The map was the basis of Cambodia’s claims to certain parts of the border, but its vagueness led to conflicting interpretations, and Thailand contested it.
In 2008-11: Military fighting has broken out intermittently since 2008. The last time tensions turned deadly was in 2011, when the fighting focused on a jungle border area including ancient temples to which both sides had laid claim. Each side blamed the other for starting and prolonging the fighting.
The cease-fire declared between two nations after seven days of fighting, in which 15 people and thousands of civilians were displaced. In the same year UN court ordered the both nations to withdraw troops and establish a demilitarized zone.
But the court left the matter unresolved and this converted into the big dispute, where troops were kept clashing.
On May 28, 2025: The border dispute worsened again earlier this year. In a skirmish between the two countries, a Cambodian soldier was killed. The soldier’s death brought the relations between the countries to the lowest point in years.
On June 15: Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand spoke with Cambodia’s de facto leader, Hun Sen. The call was meant to resolve the tensions between the two countries.
On June 18: A recording of the call that Mr. Hun Sen posted to his Facebook page ignited an outcry in Thailand. Ms. Paetongtarn urged him to ignore the Thai military, referring to it as “the opposite side,” and called him “uncle.” She also offered to “arrange” anything that he wanted.
On July 1: Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Ms. Paetongtarn, accepting a petition to the court brought by a group of senators who sought her removal and accused her of violating ethics standards in her call with Mr. Hun Sen.
She apologized again and said personal gain had not been the purpose of her conversation with Mr. Hun Sen.
July 23: A Thai soldier lost his right leg in a land mine explosion. Thailand said it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling its ambassador to Cambodia and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador.
What sparked on Thursday?
Clashes that began on Thursday resumed early on Friday, the Thai military reported, as the two countries fought in their bloodiest military clashes in over a decade. Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along the Cambodian border, it said on Friday, as the country’s leader warned cross-border clashes could develop into war. The Fighting had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, a Thai military official – an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier.
Both countries have blamed each other for starting the clashes in a disputed area of the border, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling.
Thailand's National Security Council claims that Cambodia sent drones to monitor the movement on the border of Thai military personnel at 7:30 pm local time on Thursday. More than 138,000 people and 428 hospital patient were evacuated from regions bordering Cambodia, had been moved to shelters, said Thailand’s Interior Ministry
Cambodia, on the other hand, claims that Thai troops started a conflict at 6:30 am, when they collected barbed wire there at a controversial temple near the border and thus violated the pre -existing agreement in this regard.
The newspaper 'Nam Pina Post' quoted Mali thinking as saying that at about 8:30 pm, Thai troops opened fire on Cambodian soldiers, on which they had no choice but to exercise their right to defense.
Support further alleged that Thailand had carried out excessive troops' deployment, use of heavy weapons and airstrikes on Cambodian soil.
