Fighting intensified along the Thailand–Cambodia border on Thursday, with artillery fire and explosions reported near several disputed ancient temples.
At least 19 were killed, officials said.
Jets, tanks and drones have been deployed across multiple provinces since clashes reignited last week, causing the mass displacement of half a million people.
This marks the deadliest surge in violence since July, when dozens were killed before a ceasefire was brokered with the help of US President Donald Trump.
The two countries have long disputed a colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre frontier, where several historic temples lie on contested ground.
Trump said he expects to speak with the leaders of both countries on Thursday to press for a halt in hostilities. But Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters there had been “no coordination” yet with Washington.
“If there’s a call… we will answer,” he said, adding that Trump “does not have more details of the situation than me” and stressing that the crisis remains an issue between the two neighbours.
Trade of accusations
Each side has accused the other of reigniting the conflict, which has now spread across five provinces in both countries. Thailand’s defence ministry said nine Thai soldiers have been killed and more than 120 wounded this week. Cambodia’s defence ministry has reported 10 civilian deaths and 60 wounded.
Witnesses in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province reported incoming artillery from the direction of disputed temples at dawn, while Thai authorities declared an overnight curfew in parts of Sa Kaeo after rockets landed near a hospital in Surin province. Cambodia said early on Thursday that Thai forces had shelled the Khnar Temple area.
The humanitarian fallout is mounting quickly. Cambodian authorities say more than 101,000 people have been evacuated; Thai officials report over 400,000 displaced.
In Surin city, families crowded into a university-turned-shelter, cooking communally and waiting anxiously for news.
“I just want to go home and farm again,” said 61-year-old Rat, who fled before she could plant her cassava crop. “Every time the fighting starts, it feels like life gets paused all over again.”
Cultural sites in danger
UNESCO urged both sides on Wednesday to protect cultural sites, voicing concern for the Temple of Preah Vihear, a World Heritage site at the heart of earlier clashes.
Fighting over disputed land around the 900-year-old temple triggered deadly skirmishes between 2008 and 2011 that displaced tens of thousands.
International brokers—including the United States, China and Malaysia in its capacity as ASEAN chair—helped negotiate a ceasefire in July, followed by a joint declaration in October. Thailand later suspended the agreement, and the fragile truce has now collapsed.
