Thailand-Cambodia war: 39 killed, half a million displaced after Trump-brokered peace collapsed

At least 39 have been killed, and half a million displaced after the US-brokered peace collapsed as weeks of renewed fighting along the contested Thailand-Cambodia border have forced large-scale evacuations and caused mounting casualties, with both countries reporting deaths and displacement even as regional talks are set to begin.

Cambodian authorities said on Sunday that the humanitarian situation had worsened following two weeks of clashes, while daily fighting has continued since early December.

Mounting casualties and mass displacement

Officials said the latest round of fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours, involving tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia. Cambodia’s interior ministry said more than 518,000 people were “suffering severe hardship due to forced displacement from their homes and schools” to escape Thai artillery and air strikes. Thailand has reported that around 400,000 people have been displaced, with defence ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri saying more than 200,000 remained in shelters. “There are some villagers that can return home,” he told reporters, while warning that there may still “be some dangerous mines or bombs left”.

The conflict stems from a long-running territorial dispute linked to the colonial-era demarcation of their 800 km border and several ancient temple ruins located along the frontier. Cambodia said Thai forces had continued attacks since dawn on Sunday, with fighting reported near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.

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Diplomatic efforts and fragile truce history

Cambodia and Thailand both said a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, hosted by Malaysia on Monday, was expected to help de-escalate tensions, with Bangkok calling it “an important opportunity for both sides”. Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Maratee Nalita Andamo said negotiations would be guided by earlier conditions, including Bangkok’s demand that Phnom Penh first announce a truce and cooperate on de-mining efforts at the border. “Those conditions”, she said, “will guide our interaction in the discussions tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur”.

Cambodia’s foreign ministry said the meeting aimed to restore “peace, stability and good neighbourly relations”, adding that Phnom Penh would “reaffirm its firm position of resolving differences and disputes through all peaceful means, dialogue and diplomacy”.

The United States, China and Malaysia had previously brokered a truce after five days of clashes in July that killed dozens, but it quickly collapsed. In October, US President Donald Trump backed a joint declaration after talks in Kuala Lumpur, promoting new trade deals, though Thailand later suspended the agreement following injuries to its soldiers from landmines. Bangkok has accused Cambodia of laying fresh mines, a claim denied by Phnom Penh.

Trump has since said the conflict was among those he had resolved and claimed this month that a new ceasefire had been agreed, a statement denied by Thailand. Fighting has continued daily since a border skirmish on December 7 triggered the latest escalation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington hoped a new ceasefire would be reached by Tuesday, though Thailand said any truce would depend on the military’s assessment of conditions on the ground.

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The area near the Unesco-listed Preah Vihear temple has seen repeated violence in the past, including clashes in 2008 and sporadic fighting that killed two dozen people before a UN court ruling in 2013 settled the dispute for more than a decade. This year’s crisis reignited in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a fresh clash.