Five things to know about the Thailand-Cambodia border crisis as thousands flee, 15 dead

Martial law has been declared as border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupted to the brink of war, leaving 15 dead and 130,000 displaced. Here’s what you need to know.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned on Friday that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war”, as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day.

A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday.

A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian - a 70-year-old man - had been killed and five more wounded.

Cambodian soldiers carry a body of a victim from a pagoda damaged by Thai artillery in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025. Picture: AFP

Damage from a fire caused by Cambodian artillery at a 7-11 convenience store is seen at a PTT petrol station in the Thai border province of Sisaket province on July 25, 2025. Picture: AFP

More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities - 14 civilians and a soldier - with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops.

On Friday evening, a Thailand military border commander declared martial law in eight districts on the frontier with Cambodia, citing “Cambodia’s use of force to enter Thai territory”.

Thousands of Thais flocked to donate blood amid escalating border violence with Cambodia, as the Thai Red Cross ramps up supplies for affected hospitals. Picture: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

“We have tried to compromise as we are neighbours, but we have now instructed the Thai military to act immediately in case of urgency,” said Phumtham.

“If the situation escalates, it could develop into war - though for now, it remains limited to clashes,” he told reporters in Bangkok.

Fighting has resumed in three areas, the Thai army said, with Cambodian forces firing heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems, and Thai troops responding “with appropriate supporting fire”.

Thai residents evacuate from their homes following clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Sisaket province, Thailand, Friday, July 25, 2025. Picture: AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit

The territorial dispute, the bloodiest in decades, centres on the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet and where several ancient temples stand.

The decades-old quarrel has flared repeatedly — including deadly skirmishes more than 15 years ago — but is now a dramatic escalation.

On Thursday, Cambodia fired rockets and artillery shells into Thailand, while the Thai military deployed F-16 fighter jets to bomb Cambodian positions.

Frame grab from video footage taken and posted on Facebook by Chatchak Ratsamikaeo on July 24, 2025 shows smoke billowing from a convenience store after it was hit by a rocket strike from Cambodia. Picture: Courtesy of Facebook / Chatchak Ratsamikaeo / AFP

A rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province had the most casualties.

Footage from the scene showed smoke pouring from a convenience store attached to the station, where most of the victims were students.

“I heard a loud noise three or four times, and when I looked over, there was a gigantic cloud of smoke,” Praphas Intaracheun, 53, who was nearby, said.

“I’m scared it might escalate during the night when you can’t see anything. I don’t even dare sleep.”

People flee their homes near the Cambodia-Thailand border in Oddar Meanchey province on July 24, 2025. Thailand and Cambodia fought their bloodiest military clashes in more than a decade. Picture: AFP

DFAT, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to Thailand, while higher levels apply to certain border areas near Cambodia due to armed conflict and landmines.

DFAT also advises against travel to Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces, and suggests reconsidering travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin, and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.

Here are five questions answered about the conflict between the neighbouring nations:

At least 12 people have been killed as Thailand and Cambodia battled with tanks, artillery and ground forces over a disputed border zone. Picture: AFP

WHY IS THERE A BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN THAILAND AND CAMBODIA?

Thailand and Cambodia’s 800-kilometre-long border was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina between 1863 and the mid-1950s.

Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak has said the mapping agreed between the French and the Kingdom of Siam - encompassing Thailand’s current territory - remains the “crux of the problem” today.

In World War II, Siam gained certain Cambodian territories but was forced to hand them back to French rule in 1946.

The 1979 overthrow of Cambodia’s communist Khmer Rouge regime blurred the boundaries further as its last members fled to the border region for refuge.

The Preah Vihear temple near the Cambodia-Thailand border in Preah Vihear province is part of the contested territory that has erupted in conflict with at least 12 people killed. Picture: AFP

Dozens of kilometres remain contested and in 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to the 900-year-old, UNESCO-recognised Preah Vihear temple, located on the border.

Sporadic violence from 2008 to 2011 led to the deaths of at least 28 people and displacement of tens of thousands.

WHY IS THE CONFLICT HAPPENING NOW?

The latest crisis began on May 28 when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, with both sides claiming they had acted in self-defence.

Restrictions were put on land border crossings and peace-seeking talks stalled.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after she was accused of appeasing Phnom Penh and undermining the Thai army in a leaked phone call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

Five Thai military personnel were wounded in a landmine blast at the border this week, leading Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia.

Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, leaving at least 11 civilians dead and dozens wounded, according to the Thai public health ministry.

People flee their homes with some belongings near the Cambodia-Thailand border in Oddar Meanchey province on July 24, 2025. Picture: AFP

WILL IT GET WORSE?

Analysts have said the conflict reveals an uneasy mood in both nations. Political analyst Ou Virak has said Cambodia is “desperate to stand up to what could be perceived as bullying by a bigger neighbour”.

But he warned the “nationalist flame can easily be ignited and is very difficult to put out”.

In Thailand, analysts say the conflict is being fanned by longstanding tensions between the Shinawatra political dynasty and the Thai army, which has staged a dozen coups and remains immensely influential in periods of democratic rule.

“The border clash is likely to get worse” as the Thai army is effectively in charge of border policy, said Thitinan.

Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on armoured vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province on July 24, 2025. Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on July 24 as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, killing at least 11 civilians. Picture: AFP

WHO IS TO BLAME?

Both sides maintain that the other attacked first.

Thailand’s government spokesman accused Cambodia of being “inhumane, brutal and war-hungry” and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”.

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s foreign ministry accused Thailand of “unprovoked military aggression” and the defence ministry said Cambodian soldiers only attacked military targets.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet claimed Thailand had already backed out of one proposed truce, saying in a statement he was awaiting Bangkok’s “genuine willingness” to de-escalate.

WHAT DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD SAY?

The armed conflict drew concern from China, Malaysia, the United States and France, with diplomats urging Phnom Penh and Bangkok to resolve their differences through dialogue.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) granted Phnom Penh sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple in 1962 and over a small patch of land surrounding it in 2013, but Thailand does not recognise its jurisdiction.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said last month that his government had filed a new complaint with the UN tribunal over four disputed areas, but Thailand has pushed to seek a solution through a nearly 30-year-old bilateral mechanism.

Hun Manet on Thursday requested the UN Security Council convene an “urgent meeting” over the cross-border fire with Thailand.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, “The least we can expect is for them to stand down and hopefully try to enter into negotiation,” said Anwar, whose country currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which includes Cambodia and Thailand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said casualties were “deeply distressing” and called for the crisis to be “approached calmly and handled properly”.

Originally published as Five things to know about the Thailand-Cambodia border crisis as thousands flee, 15 dead