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Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday denounced what he called “unverified claims” that Cambodian forces fired on Thai civilians and operated from ancient temples during last year’s border fighting with Thailand. His remarks were apparently aimed at exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy and an online commentator.
Speaking at the inauguration of National Road 10 in Pursat province, Hun Manet said the comments “demoralized the military.”
“What makes me the most angry is not about policy criticism,” Hun Manet said. He said his message was meant for “the veteran politician” and “the crook-mouth guy.” He appeared to be referring to Sam Rainsy and to Muong Nareth, a former Radio Free Asia podcast host who lives in the United States. Nareth has partial paralysis of his lower lip.
Hun Manet said Sam Rainsy and other government critics had accused Cambodia of firing at Thai civilians’ homes, when it was Thai troops who had fired on Cambodian ones.
“Our military did not do that,” he said. “They fired at our troops, fired at our homes and our villages, but you turned to accuse us of firing at their civilians and their homes.” He called the comments a “huge act of treason” and “unjust as Khmer people.”
CamboJA News was unable to find the comments by Sam Rainsy that Hun Manet appeared to be referring to. Sam Rainsy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The remarks from the 48-year-old leader, who succeeded his father, Hun Sen, as prime minister in 2023, after Hun Sen’s nearly four decades in power, come after both governments reported dozens of civilian deaths in two rounds of fighting last year.
Human Rights Watch said both sides used explosive weapons with wide-area effects that killed and wounded civilians and displaced thousands of people. Amnesty International said evidence suggested both countries may have carried out indiscriminate attacks.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said that by July 25, 2025, Cambodian attacks had killed 13 Thai civilians, including women and children, and wounded 46. In the December fighting, the ministry said one civilian was killed directly by Cambodian rocket fire.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said Thai attacks killed eight Cambodian civilians and wounded 50 in the July fighting. It said the December fighting killed 31 Cambodian civilians and injured about 90 by Dec. 25, two days before a ceasefire took effect.
Hun Manet also appeared to criticize Nareth over what he said were Nareth’s comments that Cambodian troops had operated from Preah Vihear Temple, an 11th-century UNESCO World Heritage site on the border with Thailand. Cambodia has said the temple was damaged by Thai shelling and airstrikes. Thailand has said Cambodian forces used historic sites along the border for military purposes.
Nareth, who now hosts a popular YouTube talk show about Cambodian affairs, said in a Facebook post Thursday that the prime minister’s accusations were “fabricated.”
“I have never said what he falsely accused me of,” he wrote. “On the contrary, I merely quoted the Thai accusations claiming that Khmer soldiers were hiding and firing at Thai forces from Preah Vihear Temple.”
Hun Manet also addressed concerns circulating on social media about food and water shortages among front-line Cambodian troops.
“In some places, food supply might not have arrived in time. However, the front-line soldiers themselves know very well and are prepared with rations. Supplies reach there,” he said.
He said troops would carry supplies on their backs to positions that roads cannot reach, no matter how difficult the terrain.
“In the dry season, there is no water source, drilling a well isn’t possible, there are no ponds, no rain, but we supplied it to them,” he said. “It might be slow in some places, but we will not let them run out.”
Journalists who reported on alleged problems facing the Cambodian military during the conflict have been prosecuted under a Criminal Code provision that makes it a crime to “demoralize” the armed forces. Luot Sophal, a reporter for the independent outlet Srotop Yuvakvey, was arrested in February after posting a video about an alleged water shortage among front-line soldiers. In July, a provincial court sentenced him to two years in prison for demoralizing the armed forces and incitement to commit a felony.
More than 30 people, including activists and journalists, were arrested between mid-2025 and early 2026 over social media posts related to the border dispute. Human rights and press freedom groups have called the crackdown a threat to free expression.
Cambodia ranks 151 out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index.
Tensions remain high along the militarized border. A U.N. human rights expert said in July that more than 20,000 Cambodians remain displaced, some because their villages are occupied by Thai troops. Cambodia accuses Thai forces of seizing territory and demolishing homes in disputed areas since the December ceasefire. Thailand says it has reclaimed Thai land that Cambodians had occupied, including people who settled there after fleeing Cambodia’s civil war, and that its forces are complying with the ceasefire agreement.
Additional reporting by Coby Hobbs
