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UPDATES:
7: 35 pm: Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry press secretary Kitamura Toshihiro expressed concern that there is rising tension again between Cambodia and Thailand after successful military measures and the Joint Peace Declaration to end the border conflict by both sides on October 26.
Japan reiterated its call to both countries to observe the ceasefire agreement, exercise maximum restraint and seek a peaceful resolution through dialogue in the spirit of the peace declaration.
“The improvement of relations between Cambodia and Thailand is indispensable for the stability and development of the entire region. The Government of Japan is paying close attention to the development between the two countries with concern and opposes any actions that could escalate the situation,” said Toshihiro.
He added that they will continue to make efforts and coordinate with relevant countries, including the U.S and Malaysia, as the ASEAN Chair, to see the de-escalation of the situation.
7:00 pm: The Thai military continued border attacks at 6 p.m on December 8 around An Ses area in Preah Vihear province and other parts, said National Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata at a press briefing on Monday. Cambodia has condemned Thailand for violating the ceasefire agreement and Peace Declaration, and demanded the Thai military to stop the attacks and invasion of Cambodian territory.
5:15 pm: Prime Minister Hun Manet made his first public remarks since the border flare-up on Monday in a Facebook post, saying the government’s immediate priorities are “protecting the people and safeguarding Cambodia’s territorial integrity.”
He called on “all ministries, authorities, armed forces and citizens to unite for the nation during this difficult period.”
4:55 pm: In a short video posted on Facebook, Senate President Hun Sen accused Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of “using the lives of soldiers and civilians to declare war on Cambodia,” and seeking to “gain votes” from the confrontation.
The longtime Cambodian leader said that Anutin had once been “a friend” before he took office “We understand loving one’s nation, but one should not declare war on those who do not retaliate,” he said.
3:55 pm: Will Parks, UNICEF Cambodia Representative said the agency is closely monitoring the situation at the border and working with authorities to assess needs and provide essential support to affected families and children.
“Children must be protected at all times, and their safety and well-being must be prioritized,” he said.
3:50 p.m.: Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said initial reports from Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces indicate four Cambodian civilians have been killed and nine injured, with tens of thousands displaced.
3:48 pm: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged Cambodia and Thailand to exercise maximum restraint and immediately halt the fighting.
3:45 pm: According to MoEYS, schools across four border provinces, including Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Banteay Meanchey and Pursat, are now closed. The ministry said it has affected 3,197 teachers, 78,585 students and 377 schools.
3:40 pm: Meas Sokhom, a resident of Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province, which Thailand claims as its territory and where clashes have broken out, told CamboJA News that her family and many others fled their homes amid fighting and Thai air strikes. They are evacuating to a pagoda about 30 km away.
“We are leaving our hometown for the safety camp right now. We can still hear explosions and see the smoke. None of the villagers are staying, and we have not seen our soldiers respond until now,” she said.
3:30 pm: Pol Chham, a journalist from local outlet White Horse News was injured by Thai mortar fire near Kouk Mon commune in Oddar Meanchey province after fresh border clashes on Monday, his daughter Sean Ratha told CamboJA’s Research and Advocacy Team.
He is in the emergency room at the provincial health center and is in critical condition.
As of 1:36 p.m, the Thai military continued to launch attacks against civilians in Prey Chan and Chouk Chey village, O’Bei Choan commune, O’Chrov district, Banteay Meanchey province, where they used small and large weapons, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
Tensions flared again along the Cambodia-Thailand border on Monday after Thailand launched air strikes in disputed areas, accusing Cambodian forces of opening fire on its troops and killing at least one soldier.
Phnom Penh said Thai forces began the attacks early Monday in the An Ses area of Preah Vihear province, with the Defense Ministry saying Cambodian troops did not return fire and accusing Thailand of breaching an expanded ceasefire that Bangkok suspended last month.
Hostilities followed an earlier outbreak of gunfire Sunday evening along the shared Sisaket-Preah Vihear border.
The air strikes targeted only military infrastructure, including “weapon depots, command centers and logistical routes assessed as direct threats,” the Royal Thai Air Force said in a statement.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said Thai forces continued ground assaults and air raids along the border as of its 11 a.m. press briefing, adding that civilians have been injured and their homes destroyed.
The ministry’s spokesperson Maly Socheata said Thai forces also used tanks in the An Ses area, including near Ta Moan Thom and the Preah Vihear temple, flashpoints in a five-day border conflict in July, the deadliest outbreak of hostilities since a border spat began earlier this year, which killed dozens and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands on both sides.
Evacuations also ramped up on both sides of the border Monday. The Thai military said more than 385,000 civilians across four districts are being moved, with over 35,000 already in temporary shelters.
In Cambodia, schools across the border provinces of Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey have been closed.
Official figures on evacuations in Cambodia have not yet been released, but residents in Samroang city and nearby villages in Oddar Meanchey, as well as frontier communities in Preah Vihear, were seen fleeing their homes once more amid renewed clashes, continuing a pattern of displacement during past flare-ups since a ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysia as ASEAN chair.
Senate President and longtime Cambodian leader Hun Sen called on all frontline forces to exercise restraint, writing on Facebook that Thai troops fired to provoke Cambodia into responding and “destroy the ceasefire.”
Phnom Penh also said the ASEAN Observer Team, a group of regional military attaches deployed to Cambodia and Thailand to monitor the ceasefire, has been notified of the strikes.
