Cambodia must be the first to declare a ceasefire in the ongoing border conflict, Thailand said on Tuesday (16 December), as fighting continued despite earlier claims that hostilities would stop and at least 52 people have been killed on both sides.
Schools across Cambodia and Thailand were forced to close on Monday (15 December) as border clashes between the two countries escalated, with the death toll reaching at least 40 and hundreds of thousands of people displaced, according to officials and local media.
Thailand’s military has halted fuel shipments through a key border checkpoint with Laos, citing intelligence that supplies were being diverted to Cambodian forces amid escalating clashes along the disputed frontier.
Artillery fire and ground skirmishes have erupted this week along the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia, shattering a fragile ceasefire and displacing tens of thousands of civilians in the worst outbreak of violence between the neighbours in years.
Fighting between Cambodia and Thailand escalated along their contested border on Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian neighbours both said they would not back down in defending their sovereignty.
Thailand has estimated initial damages from a five-day border conflict with Cambodia at more than 10 billion baht ($307.88 million), with the total economic impact likely to rise further, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Tuesday.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have eased after a ceasefire ended five days of deadly border clashes, but military talks remain delayed and Bangkok plans to report violations to the U.S. and China.
Cambodia and Thailand accused each other of cross-border attacks on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said their leaders agreed to pursue a ceasefire.
China said on Friday it is mediating between Thailand and Cambodia as deadly border clashes entered a second day, while Japan urged both sides to “exercise maximum restraint” and resolve the dispute through dialogue.
At least 14 people have been killed on the Thai side — including a soldier and a child — after a day of airstrikes and rocket fire between Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday, as border tensions over a disputed border area erupted into the worst fighting in years.
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