SURIN, Thailand — Cambodia's powerful Senate President Hun Sen on Tuesday vowed that his country would carry out a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the Southeast Asian neighbors drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas.
Fighting broke out following a skirmish on Sunday during which two Thai soldiers were injured, derailing a ceasefire that ended fighting over competing territorial claims in July. The five days of fighting then left dozens dead on both sides, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.
Both sides vow to keep fighting
In a sign that neither side was willing to back down, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday that Cambodia had not yet contacted Thailand about possible negotiations and the fighting would continue.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “The government will support all kinds of military operations as planned earlier.” He had said Monday that military action was necessary to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and ensure public safety.
In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from retaliating on Monday, but overnight began to fire back at Thai forces, saying Cambodia would "weaken and destroy enemy forces through counterattacks.”
Thailand’s military said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery and rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. Thailand says that Cambodian forces also fired at its troops Sunday and Monday, but each side blames the other for firing the first shots.
“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was Cambodia’s long-serving prime minister until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.
Cambodia’s military announced Tuesday that the new fighting had killed seven civilians and wounded 20. A Thai military spokesperson announced Tuesday that three soldiers have been killed in the new fighting.
Thailand on Monday carried out airstrikes along the frontier, which it said were a defensive action targeting military installations. Thai military spokesperson Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Tuesday that such operations would continue “until attacks stop.”
Villagers on both sides flee to safety
Ordinary citizens meanwhile had to deal with life after being relocated from the danger zones.
An evacuation shelter at a university in Thailand's northeastern city of Surin is hosting more than 3,600 people. Evacuees sit or lie on thin mats spread across the floor, and several have set up small tents in their allotted areas as sleeping spaces.
At lunchtime, some line up with their own plates to receive cooked rice, while others wait in place to be served ready-to-eat meals packed in small plastic bags. An army band plays for their entertainment.
Portable fans cool them during the day. Blankets, in piles beside them, keep them warm at night, when temperatures can fall to as low as 18 C (64 F).
“We were preparing to evacuate. We hadn’t left yet. But when we heard shots we hurried out immediately," cassava farmer Pan-ngam Kanchangthong told The Associated Press. "I was scared. Who wouldn’t be scared of shelling?”
The Thai army said almost 500 temporary shelters have been set up in four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people. Additional refugees from the fighting are expected to stay with relatives in safe areas.
Evacuees on the Cambodian side had similar experiences.
“I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the shelling. At that time, I was working at the garment factory," said 44-year-old Vach Neang, a father of seven.
“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," said Vach Neang, speaking at a former market in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey that has been repurposed as a shelter, He added that he packed just a few clothes before leaving his home.
Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said almost 55,000 people have been evacuated and the numbers are mounting.
The two nations have a history of ill will
Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity over centuries and experience periodic tensions along their land border of more than 800 kilometers (500 miles). Centuries ago both were powerful empires, but Thailand's size and greater development over the past century give it the military advantage.
Some of the disputed territory hosts centuries-old temples that both nations covet as part of their legacy.
The ceasefire that ended July’s fighting was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed to it.
A more detailed agreement signed in October called for removing heavy weapons from the border; desisting from disseminating false information and harmful rhetoric; implementing measures to restore mutual trust; and coordinating operations to remove land mines.
None of these actions appear to have been fully implemented by either side. After the ceasefire, both nations continued to fight a bitter propaganda war using disinformation, alongside minor outbreaks of cross-border violence.
Prisoners and land mines have been sticky issues
A major Cambodian complaint has been that Thailand continues to hold 18 prisoners who were taken captive the same day the ceasefire went into effect. Thailand claims they approached its positions in a threatening manner, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, Thailand accuses Cambodia of laying new land mines in the areas under dispute, in several cases maiming Thai soldiers. Cambodia says the mines are left over from decades of civil war that ended in 1999.
The mines issue caused Thailand to declare earlier this month that it was indefinitely pausing implementation of the details of the ceasefire until Cambodia apologized for the latest incident wounding Thai soldiers.
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A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that a Thai soldier was killed during a skirmish on Sunday. Two Thai soldiers were injured during the skirmish on Sunday, according to the Thai military, but none were reported killed.
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Sopheng Cheang reported from Mongkol Borey, Cambodia.
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