Translated with AI
Amid the escalating border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, more than half a million people had been forced to flee their homes by Wednesday, December 10, AFP reports. Civilians are taking refuge in pagodas (Buddhist temples), schools, and other safe places.
On December 10, a Thai Ministry of Defense spokesperson reported that over 400,000 residents in seven provinces had been taken to shelters. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, over 100,000 people had been evacuated by the evening of December 9.
At least 11 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the latest clashes, according to official figures available at the time of publication.
The conflict between Cambodia and Thailand has been ongoing for several decades. It stems from a border dispute in the so-called "Emerald Triangle"—an area between Thailand's Surin Province, Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey Province, and Laos.
The fresh fighting since December 7 is the deadliest since July, when five days of fighting left dozens dead and some 300,000 civilians displaced.
An earlier, shaky ceasefire was achieved thanks to the intervention of US President Donald Trump. In late October, with US mediation, Cambodian and Thai Prime Ministers Hun Manet and Anuthin Chanvirakoon signed a declaration on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, pledging to "promote de-escalation of tensions, restore trust, and build mutually beneficial relations."
However, about a month ago, Thailand withdrew from this agreement, citing the death of two Thai soldiers, according to Bangkok, in a mine explosion in the border area, and accused Cambodia of violating the ceasefire.
Amid the latest escalation of the conflict, Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on December 9, said that he intended to hold a telephone conversation on December 10 to "stop the war between two very powerful countries – Thailand and Cambodia."
