
Thai, Cambodian armies trade gunfire across border, killing 14 Thais
DANIELLE KEETON-OLSEN and YUICHI NITTA
PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK -- The Cambodian and Thai armies exchanged gunfire across the border in several places on Thursday, killing at least 13 Thai civilians and a soldier, while the governments downgraded diplomatic relations in sharp escalation of a crisis over disputed territory.
The deputy spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Health, Varoth Chotpitayasunondh, said on his Facebook account that 13 civilians and one soldier were killed and 32 civilians and 14 soldiers injured in Thailand. The Cambodian authorities have not released any casualty figures.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Diplomat
6 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Thailand, Cambodia Dispute Status of Border Ceasefire
Uncertainty surrounds the status of a ceasefire agreed by Thailand and Cambodia yesterday, with the two nations seemingly at odds as to whether their agreement was still in effect. Yesterday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai agreed to an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire after more than two hours of talks hosted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia. The agreement came into effect at midnight last night. However, just as world leaders were expressing their relief at the cessation of hostilities, the Thai army alleged this morning that Cambodia had launched attacks in multiple areas after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, and that Thai soldiers had responded with defensive actions. 'Such actions represent a deliberate violation of the ceasefire and a serious breach of trust,' Maj. Gen. Vithai Laithomya said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. Cambodia's government said there had been 'no armed conflict on all front lines' and that the ceasefire continued to hold. A Thai government spokesperson later said that it was gathering evidence of the Cambodian violations and would submit them in due course to Malaysia, the United States, and China, the nations that attended yesterday's meeting in Putrajaya. As the AP reported from the Thai side of the border, 'it was unclear if fighting was continuing but signs of calm returned in places. Some families displaced by the fighting began returning to their homes.' The ceasefire agreement was intended to end five days of intense fighting, which began on the morning of July 24, when fighting broke out between Cambodian and Thai soldiers close to Ta Moan Thom, an Angkorian temple close to the border between Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province. Clashes then erupted along other parts of the border, involving heavy weaponry, including rockets, artillery, and in the case of the Royal Thai Air Force, F-16 fighter jets. As of yesterday, the fighting had killed at least 34 people and displaced more than 270,000, as per Nikkei Asia. In a press conference yesterday announcing the agreement, Anwar said that in order to stabilize the situation, military commanders from both sides had agreed to meet at 7 a.m. today and that there will be a meeting of the bilateral General Border Committee Cambodia on August 4. Anwar said that Malaysia, as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 'stands ready to coordinate an observer team to verify and ensure its implementation.' The two governments also appeared to diverge on the question of whether the scheduled meeting of military commanders would take place as scheduled today. Cambodia's Defense Ministry spokesperson said that military leaders held meetings at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. this morning, while Thai media reports suggested that the meetings were pushed back to 10 a.m. and then 'postponed indefinitely,' which one report put down to the unavailability of two Cambodian generals. Both things obviously can't be true, and by the time this article is published, the situation will likely have become clear, for better or worse. But even if the ceasefire holds, the uncertainty points to the dearth of trust and poor lines of communications between the two sides – something that poses serious challenges to the stabilization of the border region. It also suggests that a conclusive resolution of the long-running border dispute, which has its origins in disagreements over Franco-Siamese border treaties signed in 1904 and 1907, remains an extremely remote prospect. As I noted in a lengthy article yesterday, the dispute touches on deep questions of national identity that have infused contested tracts of border territory with an almost sacred status. In this context, the loss of territory, however insignificant in strategic or economic terms, is something that neither government can countenance if it wants to retain a shred of domestic legitimacy. Any final resolution of the dispute would require both Thai and Cambodian leaders to restore the mutual trust that has been all but destroyed by the conflict. It would then require them to muster the political will to initiate border demarcation efforts and the political capital to make compromises on core nationalist demands. In the absence of any of these conditions, the two governments may well find that there is more political utility in an unsettled border than in a conclusively demarcated one.


Nikkei Asia
10 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Thai and Cambodian commanders meet in line with ceasefire pact
A truck carries armored personnel carriers in Sisaket province, Thailand, near the Cambodian border, on July 29, a day after the nations agreed to end their deadliest cross-border conflict in more than a decade. © Reuters YUICHI NITTA and ANANTH BALIGA BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH -- Thai and Cambodian military commanders met on Tuesday to begin implementing a ceasefire to end a five-day border conflict amid disputed claims that shelling was continuing. The Thai Army's spokesperson told reporters that officers from the 2nd Army Region, which oversees the northern sections of the Thai-Cambodian border, held a meeting with their Cambodian counterparts at 11 a.m.


Yomiuri Shimbun
11 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Border Clashes: Thailand, Cambodia Must Exercise Restraint
The long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has evolved into a fresh armed conflict, causing many deaths and injuries among civilians and others. Both countries are strongly urged to exercise restraint and adhere to the ceasefire. There are a number of disputed areas claimed by both countries, such as in eastern Thailand and northern Cambodia. In the past, there have been many armed clashes, including a full-scale armed exchange in 2011, but the border has yet to be fully demarcated. In the latest case, armed conflict was triggered by a gunfight that broke out in a border area in May, leaving one Cambodian solider dead. In addition to artillery exchanges between the two countries, the Thai military carried out airstrikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday. Both countries claim that the other side attacked first. The fighting has spread to multiple locations, and over 30 people in total have died on both sides, including civilians. Over 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and are living in dire conditions. There are also concerns about the spread of infectious diseases. Both countries must immediately cease hostilities and prevent further casualties. While Thailand holds an overwhelming military advantage, political turmoil in Bangkok is complicating efforts to resolve the situation. Recently, it came to light that Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made flattering remarks about former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen while speaking to him on the phone. The Thai prime minister faced public criticism and was suspended from office by the Thai Constitutional Court. The Thai government, now without a prime minister, has found itself in a position where it must take a strong stance against Cambodia. Meanwhile, in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Manet succeeded his father, Hun Sen, as prime minister two years ago. However, his power base is not necessarily solid, and he is not able to compromise with Thailand on border issues given public sentiment. Amid concerns that hostilities could escalate further, U.S. President Donald Trump approached the countries directly, leading to ceasefire talks, which can be seen as a step forward. The talks, held in Malaysia, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were attended by officials from the United States, a Thai ally, and China, which has close ties with Cambodia, and a ceasefire was agreed on. The agreement must be thoroughly implemented. Many Japanese companies do business in both Thailand and Cambodia. If the conflict had dragged on, the negative impact on shipping and supply chains could have grown worse. Japan has built good relations with both countries such as through long-standing economic cooperation. The Japanese government should work with such parties as the United States and ASEAN to bolster efforts to ease tensions. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 29, 2025)