Preah Vihear – Fighting had spread to over a dozen points along the more than 800-km Cambodia–Thailand border and continued into a third day on Tuesday, with dozens of Cambodian soldiers wounded in Preah Vihear province, at least one killed and civilian deaths rising to seven.
Each side blamed the other for the renewed clashes over disputed areas, which have derailed a fragile ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump that ended five days of fighting in July.
Thailand has reported at least three soldiers dead and 18 wounded.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense has yet to announce military casualties, but CamboJA reporters observed the funeral of a soldier in Krong Preah Vihear who was killed fighting near the disputed Preah Vihear Temple, mourners from his home village said.
Mourners also held the funeral of Chheng Ra, 62, from Preah Vihear’s Mom Bei area, who was killed when shelling hit her home on Monday, her daughter Som Lida said, adding the rounds came from the Thai side.
Seven Cambodian civilians have been killed by Thai shelling along the border since Monday, Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata said, without specifying the areas.
Thailand has also accused Cambodia of attempting to target civilian areas with rockets.
In Preah Vihear, where clashes began Sunday evening and intensified Monday along the border with Thailand’s Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani provinces, CamboJA reporters observed dozens of wounded Cambodian soldiers receiving treatment at a hospital farther from the front. The hospital’s director confirmed the casualty count at 57.
The hospital continued receiving more wounded troops as fighting raged in at least five areas along the province’s border on Tuesday.
In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Senate President and longtime influential Cambodian leader Hun Sen claimed that the country’s forces had refrained from firing back despite coming under sustained attack Monday, but overnight began to shoot back.
He wrote that a strategy of concentrating on where Thailand was advancing would allow Cambodia to “to weaken and destroy enemy forces through counterattacks”.
Thai forces have also claimed to have taken parts of Prey Chan and Chouk Chey villages, which Phnom Penh says is part of Banteay Meanchey province. Thailand disputes the claim and has barred many Cambodian villagers from returning to their homes and farms there for months.
With the threat of expanding clashes, the border city of Poipet in Banteay Meanchey, known for harboring online scam compounds, was placed under an evacuation order Tuesday afternoon.
Since Monday, authorities said hundreds of thousands of Cambodians living along the shared border have been moved to safety. Thailand said it has evacuated 430,000 civilians across five border provinces.
Hun Chanthitnikar, 31, fled her home in Sra Em, about 30 kilometers from Preah Vihear temple, on Tuesday. She has had to flee four times since the last intense clashes in July that lasted five days. She is now staying at her brother’s home in Krong Preah Vihear.
“For me, I just want to go home, I want a ceasefire,” she said, holding her nine month old daughter. “I want to go home and it’s hard to stay here. I ran away a few times, and my daughter was always sick.”
Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m Tuesday to remove mentioning of an alleged mortar that landed in Sa Em. CamboJA News spoke with locals in the town who confirmed the fire was caused from a faulty street light.
