Renewed clashes along the Thailand–Cambodia border leave one dead and three wounded
Nov. 13 — At least one civilian was killed and three others were wounded Wednesday afternoon after renewed exchanges of fire along the Thailand–Cambodia border, with both militaries blaming the other for initiating the violence.
Cambodia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Thai forces fired on Cambodian civilians in border communities, killing one person and wounding three. Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense published photographs appearing to show injured civilians being met by military personnel at a hospital.
The ministry said the Thai military attacked twice, first at 3:50 p.m. local time and again at 5:54 p.m. Prime Minister Hun Manet condemned what he described as an assault on civilians and called for an independent investigation to hold those responsible accountable. "I call on the Thai side to immediately cease the use of force against innocent Cambodian civilians in Prey Chan Village and to refrain from any use of force in addressing border issues between our two countries," he said in a statement.
Thailand rejected Cambodia’s account and said Cambodian forces fired first. The Royal Thai Army posted on social media that "Cambodia troops opened fire first, more than 30 rounds!" and reported that Cambodian soldiers fired into Thailand at 4:10 p.m. The Thai statement said its troops fired warning shots and then returned fire "according to the Rules on the Use of Force, taking great care to avoid civilian targets, in order to protect Thai lives and sovereignty."
Both sides continue to trade accusations; independent verification of the precise sequence of events has not been disclosed.
Background
The two countries have a longstanding border dispute that turned deadly in July, when five days of fighting resulted in dozens of deaths. That fighting paused on July 28, and a peace agreement was later signed in late October at a Malaysian ceremony attended by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who promoted the pact as a diplomatic achievement.
In recent developments, the U.S. decision to lift a previous arms embargo on Cambodia drew attention amid longstanding international concerns about corruption and repression in the Cambodian government. Thailand announced on Tuesday that it had suspended the October peace agreement after four Thai soldiers patrolling near the shared border were wounded by landmines; one of the wounded soldiers lost a foot. Thai military officials accused Cambodian forces of tampering with barbed wire to gain access to Thai territory where mines had been planted in areas known to be patrolled.
The Royal Thai Army reiterated on Thursday that it believed Cambodia "fired first, provoked and is not trying to divert attention from its own inhumane landmine attack." The situation remains tense and subject to competing claims from both capitals.
Note: Independent, on-the-ground verification of the incident timeline and attribution of fire has not been provided in official reports at the time of publication.
