A surge in hostilities along the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia turned deadly on Thursday, as Thai F-16 fighter jets launched airstrikes on Cambodian military positions, leaving at least eight civilians dead in the fiercest confrontation between the two nations in years.
The escalation comes in the wake of a landmine explosion that severely injured a Thai soldier on Wednesday, fracturing already fragile relations between the two Southeast Asian countries.
In response, Thailand has sealed all its border crossings with Cambodia.
Thailand’s 2nd Regional Military Command, based in the northeast, announced via Facebook that F-16 jets had been dispatched and claimed the destruction of two Cambodian regional military support units.
Col. Richa Suksuwanont, deputy spokesperson for Thailand’s army, stated that the strikes targeted only military facilities.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a Thai fighter jet had dropped two bombs near the historic Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, strongly denouncing the assault.
Describing the airstrike as “brutal, barbaric, and violent military aggression,” Cambodia’s defense authorities accused Thailand of violating international law.
“Cambodia reserves the right to lawful self-defense and will respond decisively to Thailand’s violent aggression,” the ministry stated, adding that the nation’s armed forces are
“fully prepared to defend the kingdom’s sovereignty and its people – whatever the cost.”
The hostilities erupted across six different flashpoints along the contested border, according to military sources, with both armies exchanging gunfire.
Thai authorities confirmed that at least eight civilians were killed, while evacuations took place in affected Thai regions.
Further complicating the crisis, Thai officials accused Cambodian troops of launching two BM-21 rockets into Kap Choeng district in Thailand’s Surin province, injuring three civilians.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry claimed the bombardments also struck a local hospital.
“These acts have resulted in further loss of life and injuries among the Thai people,” a ministry representative said during a press briefing.
Footage aired by Thai PBS showed residents of Surin scrambling for safety, many taking cover in bunkers amid the sound of artillery.
Two nearby hospitals were forced to evacuate patients, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health.
This latest round of violence stems from a series of landmine incidents. On Wednesday, five Thai soldiers were hurt by an explosion, prompting Bangkok to recall its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expel Cambodia’s envoy in retaliation.
The border between the two countries stretches over 800 kilometers (approximately 500 miles), much of it demarcated during the French colonial era. It has long been a source of tension and sporadic skirmishes.
Flashpoint at Ta Muen Thom Temple
Thursday’s clashes were ignited when Thailand’s military accused Cambodian troops of firing at a Thai army base near the Ta Muen Thom Temple, located in a disputed zone straddling Surin province and Cambodia’s northwest.
According to the Thai army, Cambodia deployed a drone near the temple before sending in armed forces, triggering a widespread exchange of fire along the border.
Cambodia rejected this version of events. A spokesperson for its Defense Ministry said the encounter was a reaction to Thai troops crossing into Cambodian territory.
“Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,” said Lieutenant General Maly Socheata.
Cambodian officials also accused Thailand of using drones to initiate hostilities and launching attacks against their soldiers stationed near the temple.
Prime Minister Hun Manet took to Facebook, alleging that Thai forces had also struck army positions in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces, as well as in Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province.
“Cambodia has always maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems, but in this case, we have no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggression,” he wrote, urging Cambodian citizens to remain calm.
The flare-up follows months of strained relations. Back in May, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a shootout involving both armies in the contested Emerald Triangle region, where Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos converge.
That incident inflamed nationalist sentiment and had major political fallout.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office earlier this month, facing possible removal after the leak of a phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.
In the recording, she appeared to criticize her own military’s actions in the dispute.
Border tensions are not new to the region. In 2011, similar clashes around the ancient Preah Vihear temple resulted in at least 20 deaths and displaced thousands of civilians on both sides.
