Cambodia rejects accusations of attacking Thailand, calls for peace

Phnom Penh expects the US Security Council members to urge the parties to show maximum restraint and resolve the situation diplomatically

Phnom Penh rejects accusations of attacking Thailand and calls for an immediate ceasefire, Cambodian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Chhea Keo said.

“How can they accuse us – a small nation with three times smaller army and no fully-equipped air force – of attacking a big neighbor like Thailand? We do not do that,” the diplomat pointed out.

According to him, Cambodia calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and “a peaceful solution of disputes.”

Phnom Penh expects the US Security Council members to urge the parties to show maximum restraint and resolve the situation diplomatically, the envoy added.

Armed clashes broke out along the Cambodia-Thailand border near the disputed area in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province on the morning of July 24.

At least 13 people were killed and over 70 suffered injuries in a Thai army’s attack on Cambodia’s border province of Pursat, the Khmer Times newspaper reported.

13 Cambodian nationals – including five Royal Cambodian Armed Forces personnel and eight civilians – were killed in a cross-border attack by Thai military forces in the Pursat province on Saturday morning. 21 Cambodian service members and at least 50 civilians suffered wounds in the assault, which involved heavy artillery fire.

In response to escalating hostilities, the Cambodian authorities have evacuated 35,829 civilians from high-risk areas in the provinces of Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, and Pursat.

The Cambodian Ministry of National Defense also accused the Thai military of violating international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, by carrying out indiscriminate attacks on civilians, bombing villages and sacred sites, and reportedly using banned cluster munitions.

Tensions had flared up on July 24 in the border areas and in the vicinity of the Ta Krabey, Ta Muen Thom, and Ta Muen Toch temples, whose territorial affiliation is contested by the two countries.

In early June 2025, Cambodia referred this dispute to the UN International Court of Justice. Thailand opposed the move.