Thailand-Cambodia Border Clash: Cambodia Calls for 'Immediate Ceasefire' With Thailand; Death Toll Rises to 32

Cambodia has called for an immediate ceasefire with Thailand after two days of deadly cross-border fighting, which has killed at least 32 people and forced over 170,000 civilians to flee their homes on both sides.

Cambodia’s envoy to the United Nations, Chhea Keo, said his country wants a peaceful solution to the long-standing territorial dispute and has requested an urgent halt to hostilities.

“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire unconditionally and we also call for the peaceful resolution of the dispute,” Keo told reporters after a closed-door UN Security Council meeting attended by both nations.

The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a decades-long border conflict near the Preah Vihear and Prasat Ta Muen Thom temples, sites that have long been a point of tension between the two countries.

Death Toll Rises to 32

Artillery fire, rockets, and airstrikes were reported for a second consecutive day along the shared border, with both armies exchanging blame for triggering the violence.

Thailand’s health ministry confirmed 15 deaths on its side, including 14 civilians and one soldier, with 46 others wounded, many of them troops. The government said over 138,000 residents have been evacuated from the conflict zones.

Cambodia's Defence Ministry reported at least 17 deaths, including eight soldiers, and said more than 35,000 people were displaced in the Oddar Meanchey province, one of the affected regions.

Talks Possible, Says Thailand

Thailand signaled a willingness to resolve the conflict through diplomacy. Foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Bangkok is open to bilateral talks or third-party mediation, including through Malaysia, the current chair of ASEAN.

“We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels… but so far we have not had any response,” he told AFP, ahead of the UN meeting.

Meanwhile, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that although the situation remains limited to localized clashes, it risks spiraling into a full-blown war if not contained.

What Triggered the Clashes?

The renewed conflict began earlier this year after a Cambodian soldier was killed in May, followed by landmine explosions in July that severely injured two Thai soldiers. Tensions further escalated this week when both sides accused each other of firing first. Thailand also claimed that Cambodian shelling had hit civilian targets, including a hospital and a petrol station.

The violence reignited longstanding disputes surrounding the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, perched on a mountaintop at the Cambodia–Thailand border. Though the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 1962 and reaffirmed in 2013 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, Thailand still contests 4.6 square kilometers of land around it.

Calls for Restraint

At the United Nations, both countries faced pressure to de-escalate. The UN Security Council urged both sides to show maximum restraint and return to the negotiating table.

“We are committed to peace. We want dialogue, not war,” Cambodia’s Chhea Keo stated.

The conflict is the most serious since clashes between 2008 and 2011, which left at least 28 people dead and displaced tens of thousands before the ICJ ruling.

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