Residents evacuate amid renewed violence
Residents from both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia border fled their homes in large numbers on Monday 8 December 2025 as fresh clashes erupted, killing at least five people.
Both countries accused each other of initiating the violence, marking the most serious confrontation since the July ceasefire agreement.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stated that his country “never wanted violence” but would “use necessary means to preserve its sovereignty”. Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen accused Thai “invaders” of provoking retaliation.
Since May, rising tensions between the neighbours have caused more than 40 deaths, along with import bans and travel restrictions.
Military exchanges intensify
On Monday, the Thai army reported that its troops responded to Cambodian fire in Ubon Ratchathani Province, including by launching air strikes along the disputed border.
Phnom Penh’s defence ministry claimed Thai forces attacked first in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Province.
Officials reported at least one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians killed, with about a dozen wounded from Monday’s fighting.
Children suffer most Thai teacher Siksaka Pongsuwan highlighted the hidden victims: children near the border, who “are losing opportunities and… precious time” compared to peers in safer urban areas.
Thailand’s education minister ordered nearly 650 schools across five provinces to close for safety, following tensions that escalated since Sunday.
Social media videos showed chaotic scenes at schools in Cambodia’s border provinces as parents rushed to collect their children.
This marks the second major interruption in recent months. In July, during children’s examinations, five days of intense fighting forced schools to switch to online classes – but not all students could access them due to lack of internet or devices.
Cambodian former journalist Mech Dara shared clips on X of children running from schools, writing: “How many times [do these] kids have to suffer the shocking environment? The nonsense fighting bring kids [a] horrible nightmare.”
family urgently come to pick up their kids from school after having learned the explosion at border… how many time this kids have to suffered the shocking environment pic.twitter.com/ftaL1sdzfv
— Dara Mech (@MechDara1) December 8, 2025
He also posted a photo of a boy in school uniform eating in an underground bunker, asking: “Why does the kid and his family have to eat their meal in the bunker…?”
Pongsuwan told the BBC that he and his neighbours feel torn about evacuating, even as gunfire echoes in their village: “If you ask whether we’re scared, yes we are… Should we leave? Will it really be safer? Or should we stay?”
A century-old dispute reignited
The clashes stem from a century-old border dispute, first mapped by France during its occupation of Cambodia.
Tensions exploded in July with a Cambodian rocket barrage into Thailand, followed by Thai air strikes. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brokered an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” days later.
In October, both sides signed an expanded agreement during a ceremony with US President Donald Trump in Malaysia. Trump hailed it as a historic achievement. However, Thailand suspended implementation two weeks later after two soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion near the Cambodian border.
Cambodia, which nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for his role, insists it remains committed to the deal.
Source: BBC
Featured photos: @MechDara1 on X
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