On Wednesday, half a million evacuees in Cambodia and Thailand found refuge in pagodas, schools, and other safe locations due to renewed hostilities over a century-old border conflict. US President Donald Trump has committed to intervening once more.
Officials reported that at least 11 individuals, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have died in the recent outbreak, while over 500,000 people have fled areas near the border where jets, tanks, and drones are active.
The colonial-era boundary between these Southeast Asian nations remains contested, with disputes over ancient temples leading to armed clashes.
This week’s incidents mark the deadliest since July’s five-day conflict, which resulted in dozens of deaths and the displacement of roughly 300,000 people until a tenuous truce was reached, facilitated by Trump.
Each side accuses the other of reigniting the conflict, which by Tuesday had spread to five provinces in both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP count of official reports.
AFP journalists in Samraong, northwestern Cambodia, heard artillery fire near ancient temples in disputed border zones on Wednesday morning.
“A significant number of civilians have evacuated due to an imminent threat to their safety. Over 400,000 have relocated to secure shelters across seven provinces,” stated Thai defense ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri at a news briefing.
“Our aim is to prevent a repeat of the civilian attacks experienced in July 2025.”
‘Will it hit us?’
In Cambodia, “101,229 people have been moved to safe shelters and relatives’ homes in five provinces,” as of Tuesday evening, defense ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata informed reporters.
Cambodian Lay Non, 55, who works as a security guard at a casino in northern O’Smach town, fled on Tuesday and is now at a temple with his family.
“This time the fighting is more intense, the Thais are bombing from jets,” he told AFP.
“I feel comforted” near a large Buddha statue in the temple, he added.
Pratuan Chuawong, a Thai farmer living just 500 meters from the Cambodian border, is experiencing the same fears that gripped her in July.
Following previous clashes, she and her neighbors built a bunker on the temple grounds to shield against shelling.
Her village in Sa Kaeo province is one of the closest to the front line.
“This time feels more severe than July,” Pratuan told AFP.
“The shelling noises grow louder each night. I keep wondering, ‘Will it hit us?'”
Cambodia withdrew from the Southeast Asian Games hosted by Thailand on Wednesday, with its Olympic committee citing “serious concerns and requests from athletes’ families for their immediate return.”
The United States, China, and Malaysia, as ASEAN’s chair, facilitated a ceasefire in July.
In October, Trump supported a joint declaration, promoting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to extend their ceasefire.
Yet, Thailand suspended the agreement the following month.
The US president mentioned planning a “phone call” on Wednesday about the renewed conflict.
During a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump highlighted various diplomatic engagements, concluding with: “Unfortunately, one of them is Cambodia-Thailand, which flared up today.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll make a call, and I believe they’ll resolve it,” he continued.
“Who else could say, ‘I’m going to call and stop a war between two powerful countries’?”
