Fierce fighting has erupted once again along the border between Thailand and Cambodia, driving more than half a million civilians from their homes and threatening to spiral into one of Southeast Asia’s most dangerous regional conflicts in recent years. The violence, which reignited after a brief and fragile truce, has shattered the lives of countless families and reignited decades-old tensions over disputed territory and historical grievances.
On December 9, 2025, Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen, who remains the country’s de facto leader despite stepping down as prime minister in 2023, issued a stark warning. “Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” he declared in a statement posted to social media, as reported by the Associated Press. His vow of a “fierce fight” against Thailand came as renewed combat displaced tens of thousands, with both sides blaming each other for the escalation.
The immediate spark for this latest round of hostilities came on December 7, when a skirmish left two Thai soldiers injured and derailed a ceasefire that had been brokered just months earlier. That July truce, pushed through by then-U.S. President Donald Trump with the threat of withdrawing trade privileges, had ended five days of intense fighting that killed dozens on both sides and forced over 100,000 civilians to flee. But the peace was always fragile, and the underlying disputes—centuries in the making—remained unresolved.
By December 10, the fighting had entered its third day, with cross-border shelling and air raids reported in nearly all provinces along the contested frontier. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Defence spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri, “more than 400,000 people have been moved to safe shelters across seven provinces.” The exodus was described as a response to “an imminent threat to their safety,” with the Thai military reporting that rockets fired from Cambodia had landed dangerously close to hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.
Cambodia, meanwhile, reported that 101,229 people had been evacuated to shelters and relatives’ homes in five provinces, as stated by Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata and cited by Al Jazeera. The border region, stretching more than 800 kilometers (500 miles), is home to ancient temples and villages now transformed into makeshift camps and evacuation centers. In Oddar Meanchey province, Barnaby Lo of Al Jazeera described scenes of “far from ideal” conditions, with around 10,000 displaced people sheltering under tarpaulins or exposed to the elements, short on aid and haunted by the ever-present fear that the violence could spread further.
“The bigger concern here is the fear,” Lo reported. “People are packing and getting ready to move to another evacuation camp. But the problem is that wherever they go, it seems like danger will follow them.”
On the military front, both nations have escalated their operations. Thai F-16 fighter jets were deployed to strike a Cambodian military target on the morning of December 10, according to Matichon Online and Cambodianess. Cambodian rockets and artillery, in turn, targeted twelve front-line areas in four Thai provinces, and the fighting has now engulfed five border provinces in Cambodia. The Thai military reported three soldiers killed, while Cambodia’s military announced seven civilian deaths and twenty wounded on their side as of December 9. At least thirteen soldiers and civilians have died this week alone, with the true toll likely higher amid the chaos.
Both governments remain defiant. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters on December 9 that Cambodia had not reached out to discuss negotiations and that military operations would continue. “We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said, insisting that action was necessary to protect national sovereignty and public safety. His foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, echoed this stance to Al Jazeera, stating there was “no potential for negotiations” and that Thailand did not start the clashes.
Cambodia, for its part, accused Thailand of “indiscriminately and brutally targeting civilian residential areas” with artillery, an allegation Bangkok has denied. The Cambodian Ministry of Defence justified its own military response as necessary after what it described as Thai aggression. Human Rights Watch’s Sunai Phasuk warned that the use of long-range weapons by Cambodia posed a grave danger to civilians, noting, “there is no assurance of safety” for those who have evacuated, given the inaccuracy of rocket fire and the scale of displacement.
The roots of this conflict stretch deep into the region’s colonial past. The border, demarcated during the era of European imperialism, remains contested in several areas, with both sides laying claim to ancient temples like Ta Krabey. On December 9, Cambodia’s Culture Ministry accused Thai forces of damaging the temple—a charge the Thai military denied, countering that Cambodian rockets had struck Thai territory near Surin. Independent confirmation of either claim has been impossible, given the ongoing hostilities and restricted access to the front lines.
Land mines have added another layer of tragedy and mistrust to the crisis. Thailand accuses Cambodia of planting new mines that have maimed Thai soldiers, while Cambodia insists the explosives are remnants from its own civil war, which ended in 1999. The mine issue prompted Bangkok to suspend de-escalation measures agreed at an October summit in Kuala Lumpur, further souring relations. Cambodia’s withdrawal from the Southeast Asian Games, currently hosted in Thailand, citing “serious concerns,” is just the latest sign of deteriorating ties.
As the violence continues, the international community has watched with growing alarm. U.S. President Donald Trump, whose intervention helped broker the previous truce, said at a Pennsylvania rally on December 9, “I am going to have to make a phone call. Who else could say I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?” Yet, as of now, neither side appears willing to back down, and the prospects for a negotiated settlement look slim.
The last few days have brought scenes of heartbreak and resilience. In Surin, Thailand, thousands huddled in university shelters, lining up for food as army bands played to lift spirits. On the Cambodian side, families fled with little more than the clothes on their backs, haunted by the sound of explosions and the uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring. As one Cambodian father, Vach Neang, told the Associated Press, “I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the shelling. I called my wife and my kids but couldn’t reach them, and by that time the sound of explosions was getting louder, so the factory owner let us go home.”
With each passing hour, the stakes rise—not just for the governments and armies involved, but for the hundreds of thousands caught in the crossfire, longing for peace yet bracing for what may come next. For now, the border remains a flashpoint, its future uncertain, as the world waits to see whether diplomacy or more violence will prevail.
