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The U.S. has warned American citizens about the increased risks of traveling to Cambodia and Thailand amid a border dispute between the two countries which has left at least 32 dead and prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands.

The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory on Friday from level one to level two, warning American citizens to avoid the border between the countries due to civil unrest.

Morgan Stark, from geopolitical and cyber risk consultancy S-RM told Newsweek while the border dispute dates back decades, what is new this time is how Thai authorities have tried to disrupt the logistics infrastructure of organized scam networks extending into Thailand from Cambodia.

Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck with an anti-aircraft gun in Oddar Meanchey province on July 26, 2025. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/Getty Images

Why It Matters

The updated U.S. travel advisory comes amid concerns over an escalation of a long-standing dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbors who share a 500-mile land border—largely mapped by France when it ruled Cambodia for 90 years until 1953.

What To Know

On Friday, the U.S. State Department updated its travel advisories for Cambodia and Thailand on Friday, from level one to level two, with level four being the strongest warning.

Part of the advisory included a level four warning to avoid all but essential travel within 50 km (30 miles) of the border due to fighting between Cambodian and Thai military, including rocket and artillery fire which caused civilian casualties.

It said the U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in these provinces due to the armed conflict. A similar warning was also put in place for Thailand, with the travel advisory being updated to level two for the whole country, and level four for the border area.

Thailand and Cambodia have each accused the other of firing the first shots, Bangkok saying hostilities began with Cambodia’s military deploying drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the border.

Cambodia says Thailand started the conflict when it violated a prior agreement by advancing on a Khmer-Hindu temple near the border. Tensions erupted into fighting when a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday.

The Thai government said more than 58,000 people have fled to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces and Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people have been evacuated from areas near the border.

Stark, from S-RM, told Newsweek Thai authorities coordinated raids at 19 different locations on the border last week in an attempt to disrupt scam networks extending into their territory from Cambodia.

Cambodian opposition figures have speculated this pressure from Thai authorities may have motivated a Cambodian response at the border, on the basis that revenues from scam groups, allegedly fund the Cambodian government, Stark said.

While these claims have not been corroborated, highly informed parties on the ground in Cambodia believe that senior officials are on the take from these criminal groups, he added.

What People Are Saying

U.S. State Department: “Do not travel to areas within 50 km of the Thai-Cambodian border due to ongoing fighting between Thai and Cambodian military forces … There are reports of fighting, including rocket and artillery fire, between Cambodian and Thai forces along the border.”

Thailand’s ambassador to the United Nations, Cherdchai Chaivaivid, told a Security Council meeting: “Thailand urges Cambodia to immediately cease all hostilities and acts of aggression, and resume dialogue in good faith.”

Cambodia’s defense ministry said in a statement Thailand had launched: “a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack” and that “deliberate military preparations reveal Thailand’s intent to expand its aggression and further violate Cambodia’s sovereignty.”

Morgan Stark, head of Asia at geopolitical and cyber risk consultancy S-RM: “Ongoing tension in the relationship between the Thai civilian government and military is also a recurring dynamic in the dispute.”

What Happens Next

Both sides have sought diplomatic support and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday and Malaysia, which chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate.