Escalation in the border conflict: tens of thousands in Thailand and Cambodia on the run

As part of the violent fights on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, more and more people are on the run. According to the government, more than 130,000 residents had to bring themselves to safety in Thailand alone. There are said to be around 35,000 in Cambodia.

Also, thousands of Cambodian workers who live in Thailand want to go back home as soon as possible: they no longer feel safe in the escalating situation. Probably, however, far more – possibly tens of thousands of people – have applied to cross the border in Ban Laem in the province of Chanthaburi, as the broadcaster Thai PBS reported from the border area. In online networks there was talk of a “mass exodus”.

According to Cambodia’s government, more than 1.2 million Cambodian lived and worked in the neighboring country in 2024. On pictures on social media you could see how numerous people with their belongings are packed up at the border crossing. Meanwhile, the fights continued.

The clashes along the 800 km long border between the two Southeast Asian countries had flared up on Thursday. Both sides accuse each other of having started the attacks.

After a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Cambodia called “an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and a peaceful solution to the conflict”. Thailand could not credibly accuse Cambodia of attacking, since its army was only a third as big as the Thailands, said Cambodian and ambassador Chea Keo.

Dead and injured on both sides

Thailand’s military also flew several air strikes on military positions. Among other things, Cambodia fired BM-21 rockets into the neighboring country. In the meantime, Thailand’s marine is also involved.

So far, 13 people have been killed in Cambodia, including 8 civilians, the newspaper “Phnom Penh Post” reported, citing the Ministry of Defense. More than 70 people were injured, many civilians. In Thailand, too, government information was recorded more than a dozen deaths – almost all of civilians. Here, too, there were many injured citizens to complain about.

The organization of Human Rights Watch called both countries to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. “In just two days, fights along the Cambodian-Thailand border, including children, have killed and injured and injured as well as medical facilities as well as religious and cultural sites,” said John Sifton, director of the human rights organization. However, both sides must protect humanitarian international law, he demanded.

Were scattered bombs used?

A hospital and a supermarket in the Thai border area had been hit on Thursday in Cambodian artillery fire. Cambodia, on the other hand, accuses Thailand of having used streumunition in attacks – a accusation that Thailand rejects. “Human Rights Watch considers every use of this weapon in populated areas as illegal and arbitrary,” it said.

In the border area, fights had flared up in the morning in the morning. In the meantime there is a new front further south, especially in the Thai province, the newspaper “Khaosod” reported, citing the military. According to the Thai army, a controversial mountain – Phu Makkhuea – was also taken by soldiers who had the Thai flag there.

On Friday evening, Thailand’s armed forces in eight districts of the provinces and Chanthaburi imposed war law. This was justified by the “persistent threats to national security” by the neighboring country. War law makes it easier for the military to carry out all the necessary operations in order to preserve peace and order, the Foreign Ministry said.

Conversely, the Thai UN ambassador Cherdchai Chaivaivid called for an optional end to hostility by Cambodia at the UN session to start a dialogue. He spoke of an “illegal and arbitrary act of aggression”. The two countries are close neighbors – violence must be ended.

What are the neighbors argue about?

The two countries separate a more than 800 km long border, the course of which was still determined in the colonial period. The governments in Bangkok and Phnom Penh interpret this boundary difference. In the past, bloody conflicts occurred several times, most recently in 2011.

However, the background of the current escalation is unclear. The reason is the dispute over the Temple Preah Vihear, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. The Hindu Temple from the 10th to 12th centuries are claimed by both countries. However, observers believe that violence has significantly more complex causes.