The border between Thailand and Cambodia has once again become a flashpoint, with thousands of people fleeing their homes as clashes and air strikes resume along the contested frontier. The fighting, which has left at least five people dead, marks the fiercest confrontation since both countries agreed to a ceasefire in July.
Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, stressed that Bangkok “never sought violence” but affirmed that the country would employ all necessary means to defend its sovereignty. In response, Cambodia’s former prime minister Hun Sen accused Thai forces of provoking retaliation by invading Cambodia.
Since tensions began rising in May, more than 40 people have died, and both countries have imposed import bans and travel restrictions in an atmosphere of growing hostility. On Monday, the Thai army said its troops answered Cambodian fire in Ubon Ratchathani Province and conducted air strikes along the border, while Phnom Penh claimed the Thai side initiated the attack in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.
The casualties for Monday include at least one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians, with about a dozen people injured, according to officials from both sides.
Beyond the immediate casualties, there are broader, subtler victims. Thai teacher Siksaka Pongsuwan warns that the children living near the border are losing opportunities and precious time compared with peers in more stable areas.
Children’s education is taking a hit. Nearly 650 schools across five Thai provinces have been ordered closed for safety reasons as tensions flare, according to Thailand’s education minister. At the same time, social media footage shows parents in Cambodia rushing to bring their children home from border-area schools.
Disruptions to schooling are not new in this conflict. In July, amidst students’ exams, five days of intense fighting forced schools to pivot to online learning. Yet digital access was uneven: some students lacked internet connectivity, and school-issued tablets did not reach every household.
Mech Dara, a former Cambodian journalist, shared clips of children fleeing their schools on X (formerly Twitter) and asked why these youngsters must endure such an unstable environment, noting that the ongoing fighting has created a “horrible nightmare.” He also posted an image of a boy in his school uniform taking a meager meal in an underground bunker.
Back in Thailand, Siksaka Pongsuwan told the BBC that residents along the border feel torn about whether to evacuate, especially as occasional gunfire still echoes through villages.
The fight over the border is a long-standing dispute, decades old and tied to a roughly 800-kilometer frontier laid out during colonial times. Tensions escalated sharply in July when Cambodia launched a rocket attack on Thai territory, prompting Thai air strikes in response.
In the days that followed, Bangkok and Phnom Penh announced an immediate ceasefire brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. A broader ceasefire was then signed in October in Malaysia, an event celebrated by many as a potential turning point. Former U.S. President Donald Trump attended the signing ceremony, praising the agreement as a historic step toward peace. Yet the fragile calm did not last. Within weeks, Thailand announced the suspension of parts of the accord after a landmine injured two Thai soldiers near the border.
Cambodia has repeatedly asserted its commitment to the ceasefire, including a period when it even nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize over his mediation. Yet both nations continue to contest sovereignty over their shared 800-kilometer border, a debate rooted in the borders drawn during the era of French colonial rule.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Head and Koh Ewe.
