Heavy fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border has claimed the lives of three Thai civilians, marking the first non-combatant fatalities since the conflict reignited.
This latest escalation follows a Sunday skirmish that injured two Thai soldiers, shattering a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump in July, which had temporarily halted five days of intense clashes over long-standing territorial disputes.
The renewed hostilities have reportedly killed around two dozen people, while hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes on both sides, seeking refuge in temporary shelters or with family.
According to a Thai Army statement, Cambodian forces initiated an artillery and mortar assault on Thai positions on Wednesday night. Thailand responded with similar heavy weaponry, claiming “the destruction of enemy trucks.”
Cambodia’s state-aligned Fresh News online site confirmed that artillery exchanges were still ongoing on Thursday morning.
The escalating violence has drawn concern from across the world, with Pope Leo XIV expressing his profound sorrow, telling an audience at the Vatican that he was “deeply saddened by the news of the renewed conflict.”
“There have been casualties, including among civilians, and thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes. I express my closeness in prayer to these dear peoples,” he said on Wednesday.
Trump says he will urge sides to return to ceasefire
The original ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalised in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
Despite the deal to stop fighting, the two countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued.
Cambodia complained that Thailand did not return 18 soldiers it captured as the ceasefire was coming into effect, while Thailand protested after soldiers patrolling the frontier were wounded by land mines, which it alleges were newly laid by Cambodia.
Cambodia insisted that the mines were left over from its decades of civil war that ended in 1999.
Trump said he expects to speak by phone with the two leaders on Thursday, and expressed confidence that he would persuade the two sides, once again, to stop the fighting.
“I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that?” Trump said on Wednesday in an exchange with reporters, in which he also repeated his exaggerated claim of settling eight wars around the globe since his return to the White House. “Every once in a while, one will flame up again and I have to put out that little flame.”
The US had yet to contact Thailand following Trump’s latest remarks, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday.
Anutin, reflecting nationalistic public sentiment, has repeatedly vowed to continue fighting until Thailand’s sovereignty and security are assured.
In remarks on Wednesday, he did not seem to rule out negotiations with Cambodia, but said he would not do so simply at the request of Trump.
Rivals exchange strikes
Thailand has deployed jet fighters to carry out airstrikes on what it says are military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 rocket launchers with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles).
According to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS, at least six of the Thai soldiers who were killed were hit by rocket shrapnel.
The Thai army’s northeastern regional command said Cambodian forces on Wednesday had by mid-afternoon fired 79 BM-21 salvos with 3,160 rockets, used artillery 122 times and employed bomb-dropping drones in 63 attacks.
It said a hospital in Surin province was evacuated after rockets hit about 500 meters (550 yards) away.
The Thai army also said it destroyed a tall crane atop a hill held by Cambodia where the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple is located, because it allegedly held electronic and optical devices used for military command and control purposes.
Thailand’s military announced Thursday that the dead include nine soldiers, as well as three civilians, whose deaths they said occurred as they were being evacuated. It also said that more than 120 troops have been wounded.
Cambodia has said nine civilians have died, including a baby, and 46 others have been wounded.
An ancient temple sits at the heart of the dispute
The UN’s cultural agency, UNESCO, on Wednesday expressed its “strong concern” over fighting in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear temple, which it has designated a World Heritage site.
“UNESCO stands ready to provide the necessary technical assistance to ensure the protection of cultural property and implement any necessary safeguarding measures as soon as conditions allow,” it said.
The roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict lie in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims.
These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand maintains is inaccurate.
Tensions were exacerbated by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still riles many Thais.
