On this July, 2025, picture launched by the Royal Thai Military, Thai troopers examine a border space in Ubon Ratchathani† province the place the Royal Thai Military mentioned two anti-personnel landmines had been discovered.
Royal Thai Military/AP
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Royal Thai Military/AP
BANGKOK — Thai and Cambodian troopers fired at one another in contested border space Thursday after the nations downgraded their diplomatic relations in a quickly escalating dispute.
It was not instantly clear if the conflict was ongoing. A livestream video from Thailand’s facet confirmed individuals operating from their houses and hiding in a concrete bunker Thursday morning as explosions sounded periodically.
The conflict occurred in an space the place the traditional Prasat Ta Muen Thom temple stands alongside the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia Oddar Meanchey province.
Each Thailand and Cambodia accused one another of opening fireplace first.
Earlier Thursday, Cambodia mentioned it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest degree, expelling the Thai ambassador and recalling all Cambodian employees from its embassy in Bangkok. That was in response to Thailand closing its northeastern border crossings with Cambodia, withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Cambodian ambassador Wednesday to protest a land mine blast that wounded 5 Thai troopers.
Relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply since Might when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an armed confrontation in one other of the a number of small patches of land each international locations declare as their very own territory.
The Thai military mentioned of Thursday’s conflict that its forces heard an unmanned aerial car earlier than seeing six armed Cambodian troopers transferring nearer to Thailand’s station. It mentioned Thai troopers tried to shout at them to defuse the state of affairs however the Cambodian facet began to open fireplace.
Cambodia’s Protection Ministry mentioned Thailand began the armed conflict and Cambodia “acted strictly inside the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity.”
Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen posted on his Fb web page, urging individuals to not panic and place confidence in their authorities and the army.
On Wednesday, a land mine blast close to the border wounded 5 Thai troopers, one among whom misplaced a leg.
Every week earlier, a land mine in a distinct contested space exploded and wounded three Thai troopers when one among them stepped on it and misplaced a foot.
Thai authorities have alleged the mines had been newly laid alongside paths that by mutual settlement had been speculated to be protected. They mentioned the mines had been Russian-made and never of a sort employed by Thailand’s army. Cambodia rejected Thailand’s account as “baseless accusations,” mentioning that many unexploded mines and different ordnance are a legacy of twentieth century wars and unrest.
Nationalist passions on either side have additional infected the state of affairs, and Thailand’s prime minister was suspended from workplace on July 1 to be investigated for attainable ethics violations over her dealing with of the border dispute.
Border disputes are longstanding points which have induced periodic tensions between the international locations. Probably the most outstanding and violent conflicts have been across the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
In 1962, the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice awarded sovereignty over the realm to Cambodia and that grew to become a significant irritant within the relations of each international locations.
Cambodia went again to the courtroom in 2011, following a number of clashes between its military and Thai forces which killed about 20 individuals and displaced hundreds. The courtroom reaffirmed the ruling in 2013, a choice that also rattled Thailand.
