Armed conflict

13 Killed as Thailand-Cambodia Fighting Reignites

Did Thailand launch unprovoked attacks on Cambodia, or is Thailand defending its territory from aggression?

Published DEC 9 2025

13 Killed as Thailand-Cambodia Fighting Reignites

Story

Above: A wounded Thai soldier is taken to a hospital in Thailand on Dec. 8, 2025. Image credit: Royal Thai Army/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Facts

Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense reported on Tuesday that at least nine civilians were killed and approximately 20 others were injured in the renewed border clashes. Meanwhile, Thailand's Royal Thai Army stated that at least four Thai soldiers were killed and 29 others were wounded.
Al Jazeera
Khaosod English
New York Post
Thailand's army said it set up almost 500 temporary shelters in four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people. Cambodia reported that more than 20,000 people were evacuated from several communities near the border.
ABC News
Fox4Kc
The Nation Thailand
According to Thailand's Royal Thai Army, Cambodian forces were firing BM-21 multiple-launch rockets and using bomb-dropping drones and kamikaze drones targeting Thai bases and defensive positions. Meanwhile, Cambodia's Senate President Hun Sen claimed his country refrained from retaliating initially.
ABC News
Newsmax
Thai PBS World
This comes after Thailand carried out airstrikes along the frontier on Monday, which it said were defensive actions targeting military installations. Cambodia's defense ministry said its forces came under sustained attack but reiterated that Cambodia was committed to the ceasefire and did not retaliate.
ABC News
New York Post
The New York Times
The ceasefire that ended five days of fighting in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed to it.
Fox4Kc
BBC News
NPR
Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new land mines in disputed areas that maimed Thai soldiers, while Cambodia said the mines are left over from decades of civil war that ended in 1999, leading Thailand to pause ceasefire implementation until Cambodia apologized.
Newsmax
Nikkei Asia
DW on Youtube

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Thailand violated the ceasefire by launching unprovoked military attacks on Cambodian territory, killing innocent civilians. The Thai military's barbaric aggression is a grave breach of international commitments witnessed by the U.S. and Malaysia, forcing Cambodia to exercise legitimate self-defense under U.N. Charter Article 51. Thailand's brutal assault on sovereign Cambodian land demands immediate cessation and accountability for these war crimes against peaceful civilians.

Khmer Times

Narrative B

Thailand has consistently proven through evidence submitted to international organizations that it is not the aggressor in this border conflict and will never allow encroachment on its sovereign territory. The duty of any national leader is to safeguard territorial integrity when under attack, and witnesses to any agreement should tell the actual aggressor to stop first rather than demanding Thailand endure continued assaults. The time for one-sided restraint has passed.

The Nation Thailand

Thailand Government Public Relations Department on X

Anti-Trump narrative

After the promise of global peace deals, Trump watched hopes rise — a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, a peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and pledges to ease the crises in Gaza and Ukraine. But as fresh fighting erupted along the Thai-Cambodia border and violence surged again in eastern Congo, the dream of ending wars through diplomacy alone started to crumble — leaving citizens displaced, hopes dashed and peace fragile.

Times Now

Sushant Sareen on X

Narrative D

Amid intensifying border clashes, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's refusal to seek peace with Cambodia was driving Thailand into a strategic trap set by Hun Sen. As evacuations surpassed 100,000 and schools and hospitals shut down, military force alone could not end the crisis. The government must shift toward a balanced strategy combining defense, diplomacy and a global crackdown on scam networks that help fuel the Cambodian regime.