What you need to know about the cross-border violence in Thailand and Cambodia as ceasefire agreed

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At least 12 people were killed, including 11 civilians, one of which was an eight-year-old boy.

In response, the Thai army said a Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed military targets in Cambodia.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thai jets had dropped bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, saying it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.

Troops from both sides reported ongoing fighting on 28 July. Maly Socheata, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson, said the Thai assault was “ongoing and strong” on Monday.

What caused the escalation?

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have laid claim to undisputed points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border. This has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011.

Tensions were reignited in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered recent armed clashes.

Both countries agreed to de-escalate tensions, but Cambodian and Thai authorities continued to implement or threaten restrictions on the other.

Tighter restrictions on Thailand’s land border with Cambodia were implemented, stopping almost all crossings except for students, medical patients and others with essential needs. Thai authorities sealed the border entirely after the escalation in violence.

Meanwhile, Cambodia banned Thai movies and TV shows, stopped the import of Thai fuel, fruits and vegetables and boycotted some of its neighbour’s international internet links and power supply.

Cambodia later downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to their lowest level, expelled the Thai ambassador and recalled all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok.

That was in response to Thailand withdrawing its ambassador and expelling the Cambodian ambassador a day earlier, in protest against a number of land mine blasts that injured a total of eight Thai soldiers.

Thai authorities alleged the mines were recently laid along paths that by mutual agreement were supposed to be safe. They said the mines were Russian-made and not of a type used by Thailand’s military.

Cambodia accused Thailand of making “baseless accusations”, pointing out that the unexploded mines could have been from previous periods of unrest.

Political fallout

Earlier in July, Thailand’s former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attempted to resolve tensions via a call with Cambodia’s influential former prime minister and current president of the senate, Hun Sen.

Their conversation was later leaked, revealing Ms Shinawatra referred to Mr Sen – who stepped down as prime minister in favour of his son Hun Manet in 2023 – “uncle” and criticised Thai military leadership.

Her comments caused widespread outrage and protests and led to Ms Shinawatra being suspended from her position on 1 July after a court ruling.

Her ally, former defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai was appointed as acting prime minister.

‘Immediate’ ceasefire agreed

After five days of violence, Cambodia’s Mr Manet and Thailand’s Mr Wechayachai met for peace talks in Malaysia, where they agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” which comes into effect from midnight on 28 July.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, initially proposed the meeting after US President Donald Trump called on both sides to settle their differences.

Mr Trump also warned he would not conclude trade deals with either unless they ended fighting.

“Today we have a very good meeting and very good results… that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries and also caused displacement of people,” Mr Manet said, expressing appreciation to Mr Trump and China for its efforts in participating in the process.

“We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship, and as a foundation for future de-escalation of forces.”

Mr Wechayachai, who had earlier expressed doubts about Cambodia’s sincerity ahead of the negotiations in Malaysia, said Thailand had agreed to a ceasefire that would “be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides”.

Why is the border contested?

Tensions over the border largely stem back to a 1907 map drawn under French colonial rule that was used to separate Cambodia from Thailand.

Cambodia has used the map as a reference to claim territory, while Thailand has argued the map is inaccurate.

The most prominent and violent conflicts have been over the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Cambodia sovereignty over the temple area, which caused irritation between the neighbouring countries.

Cambodia went back to the court in 2011, following several clashes between its army and Thai forces that killed about 20 people and displaced thousands. The court reaffirmed the ruling in Cambodia’s favour in 2013.

Cambodia once again turned to the international court to resolve the border disputes, but Thailand rejected the court’s jurisdiction.