Razor wire now runs through the middle of a Cambodian village, cutting families off from homes and fields they say they have worked for decades, as a fragile ceasefire holds after more than a week of fighting with Thailand that left dozens dead and displaced thousands.
Residents of Chouk Chey say Thai soldiers moved onto land on Aug. 13, told them to leave and then erected wire and tall black screens that conceal troops on the other side of the frontier. "I asked if I could go back to get my cooking pots. They gave me just 20 minutes," said Huis Malis, one of 13 families effectively separated from their houses and farmland.
The authorities in Thailand say they are securing territory amid the conflict; Cambodian officials argue the border should run in a straight line between century-old boundary stones installed during the French colonial era. Months of tension along disputed sections of the border escalated into open fighting in July, leaving about 40 people dead, according to counts by both governments and outside monitors. A ceasefire declared after five days of shelling and air strikes has largely held, but skirmishes and confrontations have continued.
Cambodian officials and residents described widespread disruption. Oum Reatrey, governor of the border province, said customs revenue has fallen sharply since crossings were closed and estimated losses at about $1 million a day. Billions of dollars in annual trade between the neighbors have slowed to a trickle, hundreds of thousands of Cambodian workers have returned home from Thailand, and Thai tourists have stopped traveling to Cambodia. The brand-new Chinese-built terminal at Siem Reap airport, the gateway to Angkor Wat, is largely deserted.
Across the border region, damage to cultural and civilian sites has become a focal point of international concern. Preah Vihear, a 1,000-year-old temple perched on a cliff and a Unesco World Heritage site, shows visible signs of shelling and shrapnel, Cambodian officials and BBC reporters said. They recorded more than 140 blast sites in and around the complex and identified unexploded cluster munitions, which the Thai military has acknowledged using in the fighting. Thailand denies targeting the temple and says it has evidence of Cambodian troops operating in the complex.
Video and eyewitness accounts show shattered ancient stone stairways, pockmarked walls and dozens of rain-filled craters within the temple precincts. Cambodian demining teams and officials said unexploded ordnance remains a hazard around the site and along the frontier, complicating efforts to allow displaced villagers to return safely.
Both governments have accused the other of violations and sought to shape international opinion. Cambodia has filed complaints with Unesco and described 18 soldiers seized by Thai forces after the ceasefire as hostages. Thailand has presented evidence it says shows Cambodian forces are laying landmines along the border, which Bangkok argues undermines the ceasefire and has injured Thai soldiers.
Independent analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute cited a pattern of military reinforcement on both sides in the months before the outbreak of full-scale fighting, with a notable deployment of Cambodian forces. The month before the fighting, a leaked conversation between then-Thai political leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen — publicized by Hun Sen in June — intensified the dispute, culminating in political turmoil in Bangkok that saw Paetongtarn suspended and later removed from office. The episode heightened nationalist sentiment on both sides and made conciliatory politics more difficult.
For ordinary people, the consequences have been immediate and uncompromising. Temporary camps in Cambodian border provinces now shelter thousands. Reporters visiting one makeshift site found about 5,000 families living under tarpaulins in muddy conditions with limited sanitation; a communal kitchen served a thin potato soup for dinner. Some displaced Cambodians said they had been warned not to return even after the ceasefire because of the risk of unexploded ordnance and what they described as a climate of fear fueled by disinformation on social media, including unfounded warnings of further attacks or chemical weapons.
Cambodian officials and local leaders said anger has flared in several confrontations, most recently on Sept. 4, and that residents occasionally attempted to pull down the razor wire in front of Thai soldiers. Provincial officials have appealed for restraint. "Cambodia needs peace – final," read a sign across the main track through one camp, reflecting a common sentiment among people displaced by the fighting.
Suos Yara, spokesman for Cambodia's ruling party, framed his country's position in terms of asymmetry: "You cannot make an ant go up against an elephant," he said, urging recognition of Cambodia's historical vulnerability as a smaller country near regional powers. Thailand, however, accuses Cambodia of provoking the confrontation and of attempting to redraw the frontier in ways Bangkok cannot accept.
International mediators and regional partners face limited options. Both countries are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has mechanisms for diplomatic engagement but has so far not been able to prevent violence or secure a durable settlement. Humanitarian groups are working to assist displaced civilians and to clear unexploded ordnance, but officials warn that until nationalist rhetoric is dialed down and military positions are eased, many families will remain unable to return safely to their homes.
Leaders on both sides have signaled a desire to restore relations, but the path to a lasting resolution remains unclear. For now, villagers who say they have lived and worked across an open border for generations find themselves fenced off from houses, fields and livelihoods, and many say they do not dare go back.