Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodian military targets in major escalation of border dispute
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Thailand F-16 jet bombs Cambodian targets as border clash escalates
Soldiers salute as Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visits the Ranger Company 1202 on a Thailand-Cambodia border town of Aranyaprathet district. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday. Both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least nine civilians, including a child and a woman. The U.S. and Thailand are the only two countries in the world to have had the largest number of people killed in the last year. The United States had the highest number of deaths in the past 12 months, followed by the U.K. and Germany. The world had the lowest number of casualties in the first half of the year, according to a study by the World Economic Forum. The global death toll for the year was the highest since the study began in 2006. The number of Americans who died from natural causes was the lowest since 2008. The death toll from the United States was the largest since the beginning of the decade.
Item 1 of 4 Soldiers salute as Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visits the Ranger Company 1202 on a Thailand-Cambodia border town of Aranyaprathet district, as she battles to stay in power after drawing sharp criticism of her handling of a border row with Cambodia, Sa Kaeo province, Thailand, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo
Summary Thailand says its F-16 jet destroyed military target
Cambodia says Thai jets dropped two bombs on a road, condemns ‘aggression’
At least 9 civilians killed in Thailand, military says
Clash follows downgrade in diplomatic ties over landmine incidents
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Reuters) – A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least nine civilians, including a child.
Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday.
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“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.
The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said Cambodian troops fired “heavy artillery” on a Thai military base on Thursday morning and also targeted civilian areas including a hospital, leading to civilian casualties.
“The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defence measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.
Thai residents including children and the elderly ran to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires in the Surin border province.
“How many rounds have been fired? It’s countless,” an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter as gunfire and explosions were heard intermittently in the background.
Cambodia’s foreign ministry said Thailand’s air strikes were “unprovoked” and called on its neighbour to withdraw its forces and “refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation”.
For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011.
Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes.
LANDMINES
The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km (225 miles) east of the Thai capital Bangkok.
Thailand’s military said in a statement that nine people have been killed across three border provinces, including an 8-year-old boy in Surin.
“Artillery shell fell on people’s homes,” Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. “Two people have died,” he added.
Video footage showed a plume of thick black smoke rising from a gas station in the neighbouring Thai Sisaket province, as firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze.
Six people were killed and 10 wounded at the site, the military said, adding another person was killed in the border province of Ubon Ratchathani.
“The Thai Army condemns Cambodia for using weapons to attack civilians in Thailand. Thailand is ready to protect sovereignty and our people from inhumane action,” it said in a statement.
The military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the Ta Moan Thom temple.
Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers.
A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate.
“We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.”
An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia’s influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court.
Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military.
Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war.
Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups.
But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.
Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Saad Sayeed; Editing by Martin Petty and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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Border clash: Thailand F-16 jet bombs military targets, 9 civilians killed in Cambodian attacks | 10 points
The Royal Thai Army has stated at least nine civilians were killed on Thursday. These deaths come after Cambodia launched a series of rocket attacks near border towns. Thailand has accused Cambodia of targeting homes and civilian infrastructure along the border.
As per the official statement from the Thai Army, nine people have been killed across three districts near the border and around 14 people have been injured.
In response to Thursday’s attacks, Thailand has accused Cambodia of targeting homes and civilian infrastructure along the border. Referring to the neighbouring nation as “inhumane, brutal and war-hungry”, the Thai government called on the international community to condemn Cambodia for its attacks.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has accused Thailand of opening fire and launching attacks from its F-16 fighter jets.
Thailand-Cambodia dispute | Latest developments
Nine civilians killed in Cambodian shelling, says Thai military
At least 11 Thai civilians, including an eight-year-old boy, have been killed in armed conflict near the Cambodian border, says the Thai health minister. Thailand deployed an F-16 fighter jet against Cambodian forces and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Cambodia’s defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemned the reckless and brutal military aggression” Both militaries accused the other side of firing the first shots in armed clashes along a disputed area of their border. The row has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight. The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples. About 40,000 civilians from 86 villages in Thailand had been evacuated to safer locations, a Thai official said. The Royal Thai Army released a photograph of a Thai soldier being airlifted after stepping on a landmine.
One Thai soldier was also killed and at least 14 people, including a five-year-old, across three provinces in Thailand, were injured as a result of the fighting, according to Reuters.
The Thai army said the most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province, where six people were killed after shots were fired at a gas station.
Cambodian artillery shelling on Thai homes also resulted in other casualties, said a district chief in Surin province.
Thai Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said Cambodia’s actions, including an attack on a hospital, should be considered war crimes.
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Relations between the South-East Asian neighbours have deteriorated sharply since an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier.
Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation.
Earlier today, Thailand deployed an F-16 fighter jet against Cambodian forces and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemned the reckless and brutal military aggression”.
A Cambodian BM-21 multiple rocket launcher returns from the Cambodia-Thai border. (AFP)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet requested the UN Security Council convene an “urgent meeting … to stop Thailand’s aggression”.
Two Cambodian provinces came under shelling from Thailand’s military, according to Cambodia’s influential former premier Hun Sen.
Countries accuse each other
Both militaries accused the other side of firing the first shots in armed clashes along a disputed area of their border.
A Cambodian government source told AFP that violence broke out again on Thursday morning near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey.
A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.
The Thai army said Cambodian soldiers opened fire on them near their post east of the Ta Muen temple.
The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, and which is home to several ancient temples.
Some residents of Surin province in north-eastern Thailand have been forced to take shelter from the clashes. (AP: Sunny Chittawil)
The row has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15 years ago and again in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight.
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, called for calm in a Facebook post and urged Cambodians to place their trust in his country’s armed forces and government.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said “the situation requires careful handling, and we must act in accordance with international law”.
“We will do our best to protect our sovereignty,” he said.
Thailand says Cambodian soldiers shot at Thai soldiers near their post east of the Ta Muen temple. (AFP: Tang Chhin Sothy )
Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh said Thais should leave Cambodia “as soon as possible” unless they had urgent reasons to remain.
About 40,000 civilians from 86 villages in Thailand had been evacuated to safer locations, a Thai official said.
The Cambodian military had used a range of weapons, including BM21 rocket launchers, said the Thai army’s deputy spokesman, Colonel Richa Suksuwanont.
The Royal Thai Army released a photograph of a Thai soldier being airlifted after stepping on a landmine. (AP: The Royal Thai Army )
Diplomats withdrawn amid nationalist flare-up
Cambodian men must do military service from 2026 Photo shows man with green camo helmet and uniform with navy vest with B H Q and lanyard claps amid row of similarly dressed men Cambodian men will need to complete compulsory military service from next year because of rising border tensions with Thailand.
The clash came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe.
They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type employed by Thailand’s military.
Cambodia’s defence ministry on Wednesday night “categorically rejected the unfounded accusations” made by Thailand.
The ministry said the border areas still contained “many landmines left over from past wars” which have not been fully cleared.
Thailand and Cambodia have recalled their ambassadors as tension over border disputed heats up. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa)
The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct.
A diplomatic call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime ruler and father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.
Last week, Hun Manet announced that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.
Reuters/AP/AFP
Live updates: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes, Thai F-16 fighter jets deployed against Cambodian military targets
Thailand’s 361,000 active-duty personnel is three times Cambodia’s manpower. Thailand has dozens of battle tanks, including 60 modern, Chinese-made VT-4 tanks. The Thai army boasts more than 600 artillery pieces, including at least 56 powerful 155mm weapons. Cambodia has only a dozen 155mm guns with around 400 smaller towed artillery pieces. Thailand’s armed forces are also regular participants in international military exercises, most prominently the annual Cobra Gold exercises, which Bangkok co-hosts with the US Indo-Pacific Command.
Thailand’s military dwarfs that of neighboring Cambodia, both in personnel and weaponry.
Thailand’s 361,000 active-duty personnel spread across all branches of its military is three times Cambodia’s manpower.
And Thailand is far ahead of Cambodia when it comes to weaponry.
“Thailand has a large, well-funded military and its air force is one of the best equipped and trained in Southeast Asia,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies wrote in its “Military Balance 2025” report on the world’s armed forces.
The US classes Thailand as a major non-NATO ally, the IISS notes. That has enabled it to enjoy decades of US support for its weapons programs, although it has also boosted ties with China in recent years and has developed a strong domestic weapons industry with the help of countries such as Israel, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Sweden, the report said.
The air force’s equipment includes at least 11 modern Swedish Gripen fighter jets and dozens of older US-made F-16 and F-5 jets, according to the IISS. Cambodia has no combat-capable air force.
On the ground, Thailand has dozens of battle tanks, including 60 modern, Chinese-made VT-4 tanks, and hundreds of older, US-made tanks. Cambodia has around 200 old Chinese- and Soviet-made tanks, the “Military Balance” shows.
The Thai army boasts more than 600 artillery pieces, including at least 56 powerful 155mm weapons and more than 550 105mm towed guns. Cambodia has only a dozen 155mm guns with around 400 smaller towed artillery pieces, according to IISS figures.
In the air, the Thai army has US-made Cobra attack helicopters and 18 US Black Hawk transports. Cambodia has only a few dozen older Soviet and Chinese transport helicopters.
Thailand’s armed forces are also regular participants in international military exercises, most prominently the annual Cobra Gold exercises, which Bangkok co-hosts with the US Indo-Pacific Command. Cobra Gold began in 1982 as joint drills with the US, but has added dozens of other participants since then. It’s the longest-running international military exercise in the world, according to the US military.
Thailand and Cambodia exchange fire in clashes that kill at least 9 civilians
Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire on their border Thursday in a sharp escalation of their conflict. At least nine civilians were killed after shots were fired at a gas station. Relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply since an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier. Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation. The most prominent and violent conflicts between the countries have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple in Phnom Penh.. Cambodia said it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level, expelling the Thai ambassador and recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok. That was in response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelled the Cambodian ambassador Wednesday to protest a land mine blast that wounded five Thai soldiers. The border dispute has also caused political turmoil in Thailand, whose prime minister was suspended from office for possible ethics violations over the matter in 2011, following several military clashes that killed about 20 people. The Thai embassy in Cambodia posted on Facebook that there were clashes at several border areas that could continue to escalate.
Both nations accused each other of starting the military clashes and have downgraded their diplomatic relations since Wednesday. Thailand also sealed all land border crossings with Cambodia. Relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply since an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier. Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation.
The Thai army said the most casualties occurred in Si Sa Ket province, where six people were killed after shots were fired at a gas station. At least 14 people were injured in three border provinces.
The Thai army said it launched airstrikes Thursday on ground military targets in Cambodia, while the Cambodian Defense Ministry said the Thai jets dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Both governments say they have to respond to the other’s actions
Local vehicles pass the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Photo:
Clashes are ongoing in at least six areas along the border, Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said. The first clash Thursday morning happened in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
A livestream video from Thailand’s side showed people running from their homes and hiding in a concrete bunker Thursday morning as explosions sounded.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Cambodia has attacked both military and non-military sites in Thailand, including a hospital.
“The Royal Thai Government calls upon Cambodia to take responsibility for the incidents that have occurred, cease attacks against civilian and military targets, and stop all actions that violate Thailand’s sovereignty. The Royal Thai Government is prepared to intensify our self-defense measures if Cambodia persists in its armed attack and violations upon Thailand’s sovereignty in accordance with international law and principles,” said Nikorndej Balankura, the ministry’s spokesperson.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country has always maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems, but “we have no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggression.”
Ambassadors are withdrawn and borders closed
Earlier Thursday, Cambodia said it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level, expelling the Thai ambassador and recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok. That was in response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Cambodian ambassador Wednesday to protest a land mine blast that wounded five Thai soldiers.
The Thai army said of Thursday’s initial clash that its forces heard an unmanned aerial vehicle before seeing six armed Cambodian soldiers moving closer to Thailand’s station. It said Thai soldiers tried to shout at them to defuse the situation but the Cambodian side started to open fire.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry also said Thailand employed a drone first before opening fire, and that Cambodia “acted strictly within the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity.”
The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh posted on Facebook that there were clashes at several border areas that could continue to escalate. It urged Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country if they could and advised others not to travel to Cambodia unless absolutely necessary.
On Wednesday, a land mine blast near the border wounded five Thai soldiers, one of whom lost a leg. A week earlier, a land mine in a different contested area exploded and wounded three Thai soldiers when one of them stepped on it and lost a foot.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines were newly laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type employed by Thailand’s military. Cambodia rejected Thailand’s account as “baseless accusations,” pointing out that many unexploded mines and other ordnance are a legacy of 20th century wars and unrest.
The border dispute has also caused political fallout in Thailand, whose prime minister was suspended from office to be investigated for possible ethics violations over the matter.
Border disputes are longstanding issues that have caused periodic tensions between the countries. The most prominent and violent conflicts have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice recognized Cambodian sovereignty over the temple area in a ruling that became a major irritant in the relations of both countries.
Cambodia went back to the court in 2011, following several military clashes that killed about 20 people. The court reaffirmed the ruling in 2013, a decision that still rattled Thailand.
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.
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