- Thailand submits letters to UN over Cambodia’s 'grave and unprovoked military attacks' on Thai territory

ISTANBUL

More than half a million people were forced to flee to safer places amid deadly border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, both sides said Wednesday.

"Over 400,000 people have been evacuated to safe shelters," Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri told a news conference, adding that over 700 schools have been closed.

"Thailand stands firmly for peace but peace must come with safety and security of our citizens," Surasant said, according to a video record of his news briefing.

The displacement of people has been reported across seven Thai border provinces.

Cambodia has also reported the displacement of more than 127,000 people on its side of the border as the two sides used heavy weaponry, according to Khmer Times, a Cambodian daily.

The latest clashes since Monday have killed nine civilians in Cambodia and six
Thai soldiers, as well as displacing more than half a million people on both sides of the border, with Bangkok using F-16 jets to bomb its southern neighbor.

"Another Thai soldier has died, bringing the death toll to 6," the Thai Army said late Wednesday, according to the Khaosod news outlet.

Bangkok has claimed that Cambodian forces used heavy weapons, including rockets, to strike Thailand. Cambodian authorities have not publicly confirmed casualty numbers of their forces.

Forty-six others have been injured on the Cambodian side, according to a statement from the Information Ministry on the US social media platform Facebook.

Authorities on two sides of the border have also closed schools and some have been converted into emergency shelters.

“Fierce fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces is continuing for a fourth day today, with Cambodian troops launching rocket, mortar and artillery bombardments,” Thai PBS reported.

Thailand’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Cherdchai Chaivaivid, has submitted formal letters to the UN secretary-general and the President of the UN Security Council about Cambodia’s “grave and unprovoked military attacks” on Thai territory, according to the Thai Enquirer.

The letters rejected that Thailand initiated the fighting, calling it “deliberate misinformation intended to distort facts.”

Cambodia has recalled athletes from the 33rd Southeast Asian Games 2025 in Thailand, citing safety concerns, and its authorities are “collecting evidence” for a possible case at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in response to Thailand’s armed aggression against Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Cambodian outlet Fresh News reported.

The two sides have accused each other of initiating the latest clashes, which broke the peace deal they signed in October, in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur.

Washington has expressed "concern" over the deadly clashes and Trump is expected to speak with leaders of the two countries.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said that “Thailand’s position remains the status quo. No ceasefire.”

The two neighbors have a decades-long border dispute that has triggered intermittent 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.

The land border has remained closed since the July fighting, limiting cross-border movement and reducing travel.