Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodia on Thursday following a new border clash, in a sharp escalation of a dispute that is racking up fatalities, according to military officials.
Fighting between the two countries has occurred intermittently for decades, but tensions began to climb last month after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a skirmish. Cross-border fire on Thursday killed at least nine civilians, according to authorities, making it the deadliest clash between the two nations in more than a decade.
The following morning, the two militaries exchanged shots across the border near the sites of several ancient temples, including the Preah Vihear Temple Of Cambodia.
Thailand — a U.S. security treaty ally — then flew an F-16 fighter jet over Cambodia, dropping bombs on what it said were two military targets.
Cambodia confirmed the airstrikes, saying munitions had been dropped on a road leading to a pagoda. Authorities were still verifying whether there had been any civilian casualties from the day.
Chhum Socheat, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defense Ministry, said Cambodian soldiers had approached Thai soldiers who were laying barbed wire around a temple in disputed territory. “The Thai soldiers fired first, and then we fought back for defense,” he said in a phone interview. “We exercised our right to self-defense.”
In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Thailand launched “unprovoked, premeditated and deliberate” attacks on Cambodian positions. The clashes, he added, stemmed from Thailand’s claims of sovereignty over border areas.
Since June 15, 2025 Cambodia submitted its border dispute with Thailand to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but Thailand reject to join that.
