Thai military authorities reported that one soldier was killed and eight others wounded as clashes intensified shortly before dawn.
Thailand said on Monday it carried out airstrikes against Cambodian military positions after heavy fighting erupted along contested sections of their shared border, in the most serious escalation since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect last year.
Thai military authorities reported that one soldier was killed and eight others wounded as clashes intensified shortly before dawn.
Army spokespersons said air power was deployed after Cambodian forces allegedly moved heavy weapons into forward positions and shifted combat units in a manner Bangkok described as a “clear escalation.”
“These movements compelled the use of air assets to weaken Cambodia’s operational capacity,” the Royal Thai Air Force said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Cambodia’s defence ministry countered that Thai forces launched coordinated attacks at two separate locations early Monday, following what it called several days of Thai provocations.
The ministry insisted that Cambodian units had not fired back.
Former Prime Minister Hun Sen, still a powerful political figure and father of current premier Hun Manet, condemned Thailand’s actions as aggression aimed at provoking retaliation.
“The red line for responding has already been set,” Hun Sen wrote on Facebook. “I urge commanders at all levels to educate all officers and soldiers accordingly and maintain restraint.”
Officials in Oddar Meanchey Province said three civilians were seriously wounded in the renewed fighting.
The border, 817 km (508 miles) of largely undemarcated territory dating back to colonial-era maps, has long been prone to flare-ups. But this week’s hostilities mark the most serious breach since a July conflict that killed at least 48 people and displaced nearly 300,000 on both sides.
That fighting was halted after emergency diplomacy by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, with the U.S. President Donald Trump joining the negotiations.
The ceasefire was later formalised in Kuala Lumpur during a regional summit in October.
Anwar, who currently chairs ASEAN, warned Monday that the renewed conflict could unravel months of diplomatic efforts.
“This resurgence of violence risks undoing the painstaking work undertaken to stabilise relations,” he said in a message on X, calling on both governments to maintain open communication and avoid further escalation.
However, residents near the frontier described a morning filled with explosions and gunfire.
“It startled me,” said Phichet Pholkoet, who lives in Ban Kruat district on the Thai side. “The explosions were very clear—boom, boom. You could tell some were artillery and some were small arms.”
Thai authorities announced the evacuation of more than 385,000 civilians across four districts, with over 35,000 people already moved into temporary shelters.
Cambodian opposition figure Meach Sovannara, speaking from Samroang town near the border, said families were fleeing their homes as artillery fire echoed across the frontier.
“I heard the shelling clearly,” he said. Local officials reported that more than 1,100 families had been evacuated in Oddar Meanchey alone.
Longstanding Dispute Back in Focus
Territorial disagreements between Thailand and Cambodia have festered for more than a century, intermittently flaring into skirmishes, most notably a weeklong exchange of artillery fire in 2011.
Efforts to resolve overlapping border claims have repeatedly stalled.
Tensions began climbing again in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of gunfire.
The situation worsened in recent months amid accusations from Bangkok that Cambodian forces have planted new landmines along disputed stretches of the border. Thailand says at least seven soldiers have been badly injured by mines since July.
Cambodia denies the allegations.
However, a Reuters analysis published in October suggested that some mines discovered near the frontier appeared to have been recently laid.
Thailand suspended its implementation of the ceasefire agreement last month after one of its soldiers lost a limb in a landmine blast.