Post by : Rameen Ariff

Tensions have reignited along the Thailand-Cambodia border after a deadly clash left one Cambodian villager dead and three others injured, threatening to unravel a fragile ceasefire that had halted five days of violence between the two Southeast Asian nations.

The renewed violence broke out on Wednesday in the Prey Chan area of Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province. According to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thai troops opened fire on civilians residing near the disputed border zone. The shooting, he said, followed “numerous provocative actions” from Thai forces in recent days aimed at instigating confrontation.

Thailand, however, offered a different account. The Thai military stated that Cambodian soldiers had fired into Thailand’s eastern Sa Kaeo province, prompting Thai troops to take cover and return warning shots in self-defense. The exchange reportedly lasted around ten minutes before calm was restored, with no Thai casualties reported.

The violence comes just two days after a Thai soldier lost his foot to a landmine blast while patrolling the border, an incident Thailand blamed on Cambodia. In response, Bangkok announced it was suspending implementation of the ceasefire, though it stopped short of formally withdrawing from the agreement.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited front-line troops earlier this week, accused Cambodia of delaying progress on the peace deal. “Today, we consider that the deal we made to bring peace is now over,” he told reporters.

The ceasefire was originally brokered in late July under pressure from the United States, with then-U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to revoke trade privileges unless both sides halted hostilities. Despite temporary calm, the agreement failed to address the underlying cause of the dispute — competing territorial claims dating back more than a century.

The Thailand-Cambodia border has long been a flashpoint, shaped by historical animosity and conflicting interpretations of a 1907 map drawn when Cambodia was under French colonial rule. The International Court of Justice’s 1962 ruling, which granted sovereignty over the ancient Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, remains a source of tension among Thais who contest the decision.

Villagers on both sides of the border now live in fear of renewed escalation. Hul Malis, a resident of Prey Chan, described the terrifying moment gunfire erupted near her home. “When I heard the gunshots, I immediately felt scared and panicked,” she said. “I grabbed my husband and we hid inside the bunker we built two months ago.”

While both governments insist they wish to avoid full-scale conflict, the latest bloodshed underscores how fragile peace remains in the borderlands. With no clear roadmap for resolving the territorial dispute, the prospect of renewed fighting looms large over the region.

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