Border clashes displace some 700,000 people in Thailand, Cambodia as death toll hits 23

ANKARA

The ongoing border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have displaced around 700,000 people on both sides of the frontier as the death toll climbed to 23 since Monday, officials and local media reported on Friday.

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said that 274,403 people have been moved to shelter camps, while more residents continue to flee affected areas, according to the state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse.

“These figures represent only those who have taken refuge at safety centers organized by provincial authorities,” the ministry said, noting that they do not include people who have evacuated on their own. “As of this morning, civilians continue to flee to safe areas across all affected provinces.”

The ministry confirmed that 11 civilians have been killed and 76 injured since Dec. 7.

On Thursday, Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, spokeswoman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that one Cambodian soldier was also killed in the clashes, according to the Khmer Times. However, the Interior Ministry did not clarify whether the soldier was included in the total of 11 fatalities reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said that over 400,000 people have been evacuated to safe shelters across all seven Thai border provinces.

So far, nine Thai soldiers and three civilians have been killed, while 190 others have been injured.

The two countries signed a peace deal in October in Kuala Lumpur, in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The neighbors have a long-running border dispute that has led to repeated clashes, including in July, when at least 48 people were killed. Around 18 Cambodian soldiers remain in Thai custody from incidents in the past five months.