Thailand launches airstrikes against Cambodia in border flare-up
The renewed fighting has killed four Cambodian civilians and a Thai soldier.
This handout picture taken on Dec 7, 2025 by the Royal Thai Army and obtained on Dec 8, 2025 shows an injured Thai soldier being evacuated following clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border in Thailand's Sisaket province. (Photo: AFP/Royal Thai Army)
BANGKOK: Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodia on Monday (Dec 8), with both sides trading blame for renewed fighting on their disputed border that has killed four Cambodian civilians and a Thai soldier.
Around 35,000 people in Thailand have been evacuated from border areas, the country's Second Army Region said in a statement.
Five days of combat between Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year killed 43 people and displaced around 300,000 on both sides of the border before a truce took effect.
But last month, Thailand paused a follow-on deal backed by US President Donald Trump to wind down hostilities, saying a landmine blast at the border had wounded several soldiers.
Since then, Cambodian and Thai officials have reported sporadic skirmishes along their frontier, which reignited Sunday and Monday.
Cambodia's information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP that "at least four Cambodian civilians were killed in the Thai attacks" on Monday, including a woman who died when a shell hit in Preah Vihear province.
The three others were killed by shelling in Oddar Meanchey, and more than 10 civilians were wounded, Neth Pheaktra said.
A Cambodian journalist was wounded by shrapnel from a Thai rocket in Oddar Meanchey, he added.
According to Neth Pheaktra, at least 1,157 families had evacuated to safety in Oddar Meanchey alone.
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai forces launched an attack on Cambodian troops in the border provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey on Monday morning, adding that Phnom Penh had not retaliated.
She accused Thailand of "firing multiple shots with tanks at Tamone Thom temple" and other areas near Preah Vihear temple.
"It should be noted that this attack occurred after the Thai forces engaged in numerous provocative actions for many days ... with the objective of instigating confrontations," she added.
Three civilians in Oddar Meanchey were seriously injured, according to Met Measpheakdey, deputy governor of the border province.
"MILITARY OBJECTIVES"
Both sides reported a brief skirmish on Sunday, which Thailand's military had said left two soldiers wounded.
But the fighting escalated early Monday morning.
Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told reporters on Monday that one soldier was killed and eight were wounded in attacks by Cambodian troops near the border.
Thailand had launched air strikes against its neighbour in an act of self-defence, he said.
"The Thai air power is being used only against Cambodian military targets, which allows damage to be contained and halts Cambodia's supporting fire that caused Thai casualties," Winthai said at a press conference.
"The air strikes are highly precise and aimed solely at military objectives along the clash line, with no impact on civilians."
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata, however, said Thai forces had attacked Cambodian troops in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey early Monday, accusing Thailand of "firing multiple shots with tanks at Tamone Thom temple" and other areas near Preah Vihear temple.
She said Cambodia did not retaliate.
Maly Socheata later told reporters that the Thai military attacked Cambodian forces in Preah Vihear with an F-16 jet at around 9am.
A soldier in the province said Monday morning that Thai forces were firing shells across the border into Cambodia. He declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Met Measpheakdey, a spokesman for the Oddar Meanchey provincial administration, said gunfire was reported in the areas of the centuries-old Tamone Thom and Ta Krabei temples.
The Thai army accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 rockets towards civilian areas in Buri Ram province, with no casualties reported.
"CYCLES OF CONFRONTATION"
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered the cessation of fighting in July.
In October, Trump co-signed a follow-on joint declaration, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their ceasefire.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, and the two sides then traded accusations of renewed clashes in which Cambodia said a civilian was killed.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged both sides on Monday to halt the fighting and utilise diplomacy.
"Our region cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation," Anwar said in a statement.
Asked about Trump's intervention and Anwar's call for restraint, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters in Bangkok that no one should tell his country to "exercise restraint or to stop - we're long past that point".
"If you want things to stop, tell the aggressor to stop," he added.
