Thailand confirms first civilian death after week of intense border fighting with Cambodia

Thailand on Sunday reported its first civilian death during a week of intense fighting with Cambodia, as international efforts to halt the violence have so far failed.

The clashes have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes along the two nations’ 800-kilometre border.

The latest civilian death comes just a day after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

The border conflict, rooted in a colonial-era demarcation dispute, has displaced roughly 800,000 people, according to officials. At least 27 deaths have been reported since the fighting escalated, including 15 Thai soldiers and 11 Cambodian civilians.

A Thai civilian killed in Sisaket province became the first non-military fatality since the clashes began on December 7, health ministry spokesman Ekachai Piensriwatchara confirmed to AFP. The Thai army said the 63-year-old man was struck by shrapnel after Cambodian forces fired rockets into a civilian area.

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“I have been here for six days and I feel sad that the fighting continues,” 63-year-old Sean Leap told AFP at an evacuation centre in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey. “I want it to stop,” he added, worried about his home and livestock.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the clashes, with accusations of attacks on civilians traded alongside claims of self-defence.

Ceasefire in limbo

Earlier this week, Trump claimed that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to stop fighting.

Thai officials later denied that any ceasefire had been formalised, and both countries reported that clashes were ongoing. Thai defence ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said Cambodia shelled and bombed several border provinces overnight. Meanwhile, the Thai military imposed a curfew from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am (1200 to 2200 GMT) in parts of Sa Kaeo and Trat provinces.

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Cambodia, which is militarily outgunned and outspent, said Thai forces had shelled and conducted air strikes near the border on Sunday. After the truce failed to materialise, Cambodia closed its border crossings with Thailand on Saturday, leaving many migrant workers stranded.

In Thailand, officials noted that nine civilians have died from non-combat-related causes while evacuating. International efforts, including a July ceasefire brokered by the US, China, and Malaysia as Asean chair, have struggled to hold. Trump last week pledged he would “make a couple of phone calls” to revive the earlier truce, though Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul indicated that no ceasefire was discussed during their conversation.