Thai forces razed Cambodian homes on border: Rights group
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Damaged houses in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province on Jan 2 following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers.
PHOTO: AFP/Agence Kampuchea Press
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PHNOM PENH – Thai forces demolished Cambodian homes in contested border areas after a ceasefire ended clashes between the neighbours, a local rights group said on Jan 20.
A decades-old border dispute between the South-east Asian nations erupted into military clashes several times in 2025, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing around one million others on both sides
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire in late December
Since then, Cambodia has said that Thailand seized several areas
The Thai military has denied using force to seize Cambodian territory, insisting its forces were present in areas that had always belonged to Thailand.
Rights group LICADHO on Jan 20 said a “significant number of homes and structures” in Thai-controlled areas of two villages in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province “have been razed and cleared by Thai forces” following the Dec 27 truce.
“The destruction of civilian homes during a conflict goes against the Geneva Conventions and international human rights law, regardless of which side of the contested border the houses stand,” LICADHO said in a statement.
The demolitions had occurred in disputed areas claimed by both countries, the organisation said.
Homes were also destroyed on land recognised by both sides as Thailand, and land recognised by both sides as Cambodia, it added, citing imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites, as well as images and footage published by media outlets.
“Their clearance post-ceasefire serves no legitimate military objective,” LICADHO said.
Cambodia in January condemned Thai forces for the “demolition of Cambodian civilian homes and other civilian infrastructures” in areas that Phnom Penh says were seized.
Cambodia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the actions by Thailand’s military violated international law.
A Thai foreign ministry spokesperson on Jan 20 referred AFP to a Jan12 statement from the ministry, which rejected “Cambodia’s unfounded allegation of illegal territorial annexation” on the border.
“Security measures undertaken by the Thai forces following the ceasefire are in full compliance” with the Dec 27 truce agreement, it said.
The Thai army did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment on Jan 20.
The two nations’ border conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.
More than 127,000 Cambodians remain in camps for displaced people following the December clashes, according to the interior ministry. AFP
