Escalating Border Clashes Between Thailand and Cambodia Result in Civilian Casualties

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Key Points

Thai and Cambodian troops have engaged in conflict near the contentious Ta Moan Thom temple in Cambodia.
A Thai F-16 fighter jet subsequently struck targets in Cambodia, which condemned the action as “military aggression”.
According to Thailand’s health minister, artillery shelling by Cambodian forces resulted in the deaths of 11 civilians and one soldier.

Eleven Thai civilians have died following an exchange of fire between Thailand and Cambodia in a significant escalation of their border dispute.

A Thai F-16 fighter jet has also conducted bombing runs on targets in Cambodia as weeks of rising border tension erupted into open conflict.

From the group of six F-16 fighter jets prepared by Thailand to patrol the contested border, one launched an attack inside Cambodia and hit a military target, according to the Thai army.

Each country has blamed the other for initiating hostilities early on Thursday.

“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” reported Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon.

In response, Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia.

Cambodia’s defense ministry reported that the jets released two bombs on a road, condemning Thailand’s “reckless and brutal military aggression” and labeling the airstrikes as “unprovoked”.

Cambodia accused its neighbor of firing on its troops and breaching an agreement aimed at reducing tension, urging Thailand to withdraw its forces and “avoid any further provocative actions that could intensify the situation”.

A large building that reads "Royal Thai Embassy".

The clashes ensued after Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and announced its decision to expel the Cambodian envoy in Bangkok. Source: AAP / EPA/Kith Serey

The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area.

Thailand’s health minister said 11 civilians, including a child, and one soldier were killed in artillery shelling by Cambodian forces while 24 civilians and seven military personnel were wounded. There was no immediate word of casualties in Cambodia.

“The Royal Thai government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty,” Thailand’s ministry said in a statement.

Thai residents in the border province of Surin fled to shelters reinforced with concrete, sandbags, and car tires as the two nations exchanged fire.

Clashes took place near disputed temple

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a week-long exchange of artillery in 2011.

Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes.

The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Thailand and Cambodia, around 360km from the Thai capital Bangkok.

A large vehicle with a rocket launcher driving on a dirt road.

A Cambodian BM-21 multiple rocket launcher returns from the Cambodia-Thai border. Source: AFP / STR

Thailand’s military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple.

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. “We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.”

An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia’s influential former prime minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court.