Over half a million flee Thai-Cambodia clashes as Trump plans call to halt conflict

BANGKOK – Half a million evacuees in Cambodia and Thailand were sheltering in pagodas, schools and other safe havens on Dec 10 after fleeing

renewed fighting

in a century-old border dispute in which US President Donald Trump has vowed to again intercede.

At least 11 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the latest spate of fighting, officials said, while more than 500,000 have fled border regions near where jets, tanks and drones were waging battle.

Thailand and Cambodia dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km frontier, where competing claims to historic temples have spilled over into armed conflict.

This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens and displaced around 300,000 on both sides of the border before

a shaky truce was agreed

, following intervention by US President Donald Trump.

Both sides blame each other for instigating the renewed fighting, which on Dec 9 expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia.

“Civilians have had to evacuate in large numbers due to what we assessed as an imminent threat to their safety. More than 400,000 people have been moved to safe shelters” across seven provinces, Thai Defence Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri told reporters.

“We want to prevent a recurrence of the attacks on civilians we suffered in July 2025,” he said.

‘Will it hit us?’

In Cambodia, “101,229 people have been evacuated to safe shelters and relatives’ homes in five provinces”, as of late on Dec 9, Defence Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said.

Cambodian Lay Non, 55, fled northern O’Smach town where he works as a security guard at a casino on Dec 9, and was staying at a temple with his family.

“This time, the fighting is more intense, the Thais drop bombs from jets,” he said.

“I feel warm” staying near a large Buddha statue inside the temple, he added.

For Ms Pratuan Chuawong, a Thai farmer living barely 500m from the Cambodian border, the return of fighting has revived the same fears that gripped her in July.

After those earlier clashes, she and her neighbours decided to build a bunker on their temple grounds, with hopes of shielding them from shelling.

Her village, in Sa Kaeo province, lies among the closest to the front line.

“This time, it feels more severe than the July fighting,” Ms Pratuan said. “The sound of shells gets louder and louder each night. I kept wondering, ‘Will it hit us?’”

Cambodia

withdrew on Dec 10 from the South-east Asian Games

, hosted by Thailand, with its Olympic committee “citing serious concerns and requests from the families of our athletes to have their relatives return home immediately”.

The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered the cessation of fighting in July.

In October, Mr Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their ceasefire.

But Thailand

suspended the agreement

the following month.

The US president said he was

planning to “make a phone call”

on Dec 10 about the renewed clashes.

During a rally speech to supporters in Pennsylvania on Dec 9, Mr Trump listed various conflicts he has become involved with diplomatically, concluding with: “And I hate to say this, one named Cambodia-Thailand, that it started up today.”

“Tomorrow, I have to make a phone call, and I think they’ll get it,” he continued. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries’?” AFP