Renewed Clashes on Thai–Cambodian Border Force Thousands Back Into Makeshift Shelters

Fresh fighting along the Thailand–Cambodia border has driven thousands of civilians back into improvised shelters they used during earlier rounds of violence, as families seek refuge from renewed cross-border attacks.

Children displaced by the renewed clashes ran and played on the tarmac at Thailand's Chang International Circuit race track near Buriram, where hundreds of families have been accommodated in large, silo-shaped tents. The race track's owner, former MP Newin Chidchob, said he had prepared the site because he doubted the earlier ceasefire would hold.

Recent Violence and Toll

This week’s flare-up followed a five-day bout of fighting in July that killed dozens and displaced roughly 300,000 people on both sides before an uneasy truce. Officials report that at least seven Cambodian civilians and three Thai soldiers have been killed in the latest violence, and more than 125,000 people have been evacuated on the Thai side alone.

Responses And Diplomacy

Thai forces carried out air strikes, and Cambodian authorities announced retaliatory actions. In July, the fighting subsided after diplomatic interventions that included the United States, China and Malaysia—then-chair of ASEAN. Observers say the subsequent agreement failed to resolve the underlying border dispute, even as some leaders touted the pause as a diplomatic win.

Lives Disrupted

At a temple shelter, 31-year-old Cambodian mother Ros Sambok cradled her five-year-old son and described the repeated upheaval: “This is my third time fleeing. I could barely sleep in recent months. Authorities told us to be ready all the time. Our ears are open all the time.”

Handyman Boonsong Boonpimay, sheltering at the racecourse in Buriram about 70 kilometres from the frontier, pleaded for a decisive solution: “I want the government to deal with this decisively so it stops for good. Otherwise we'll have to keep living like this—unable to work and constantly on edge.”

Outlook

Local residents and shelter operators are calling for a lasting resolution so families can return home and resume normal lives. For now, displaced communities cope in makeshift camps, while the core territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia—rooted in colonial-era demarcations—remains unresolved.

Numbers at a glance: July clashes displaced ~300,000; latest evacuations exceed 125,000 in Thailand; at least 10 fatalities reported in recent fighting.