Cambodia evacuates hundreds from disputed Thai border as tensions reignite

Evacuation of a frontier colony takes spot aft a shooting reportedly kills 1 resident.

Cambodia has evacuated hundreds of its citizens from a colony connected the disputed borderline it shares with Thailand arsenic tensions betwixt the neighbours are flaring, threatening a ceasefire agreed successful July.

About 250 families from Prey Chan successful Cambodia’s northwestern state of Banteay Meanchey were taken connected Thursday to a Buddhist temple 29km (18 miles) from the border, according to provincial Vice Governor Ly Sovannarith.

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The evacuation took spot a time aft a antheral identified arsenic Dy Nai was said to person been killed successful a shootout betwixt Cambodian and Thai soldiers around the aforesaid frontier village.

Three others were injured successful the incident, according to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Both sides blamed the different for what happened connected Wednesday, claiming they were not the archetypal to unfastened fire.

Thai Major General Winthai Suvaree said Cambodian soldiers initiated the shooting portion Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thai soldiers began the gunfight astir 3:50pm (08:50 GMT).

The shooting lasted for astir 10 minutes, according to the Thai army.

Residents of Prey Chan colony successful Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey state transportation a coffin connected November 13, 2025, with the assemblage of a civilian believed to person been killed successful gunfire betwixt Thai and Cambodian soldiers connected their disputed borderline [Agence Kampuchea Press via AP]

The deadly incidental is conscionable the latest to rise questions astir the Thai-Cambodian ceasefire that went into effect successful July aft 5 days of warring killed dozens of radical and temporarily displaced thousands.

Earlier successful the week, Thailand accused Cambodia of laying caller landmines aft saying 1 of its soldiers had mislaid a ft erstwhile a excavation exploded connected Monday adjacent their borderline successful Thailand’s Sisaket province.

The Cambodian Defence Ministry has denied the allegation, insisting that the excavation indispensable person been placed determination during erstwhile confrontations. In response, Bangkok called Phnom Penh’s effect insufficient.

After saying its worker was wounded connected Monday, Thailand announced that it was suspending an enhanced ceasefire that the 2 sides signed successful precocious October with the enactment of United States President Donald Trump.

As portion of this suspension, Bangkok said it was halting the merchandise of 18 Cambodian soldiers, which had been scheduled to instrumentality spot connected Wednesday.

The improvement came little than 3 weeks aft Trump cosigned the woody successful Kuala Lumpur on with Malaysia’s, Cambodia’s and Thailand’s premier ministers astatine a acme of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“We did thing that a batch of radical said couldn’t beryllium done,” the US president boasted.

The territorial quality implicit the 2 nations’ 800km (500-mile) frontier has lasted for decades, the effect of a vaguely defined French borderline pact successful 1907. At the time, Cambodia was a French colony.