On July 24, 2025, Thai warplanes targeted Cambodian military positions after exchanges of fire erupted along their disputed border. This marks a sharp turn in a long-standing dispute.
Early Thursday, intense clashes flared around temples including Ta Muen Thom and Ta Moan Thom, located where Thailand’s Surin province meets Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces.
Both armies accused one another of firing first. Cambodia also deployed rockets and artillery into Thai zones, prompting Thai aircraft to respond with airstrikes on Cambodian land targets .
Thailand dispatched six F‑16 jets from Ubon Ratchathani to bomb two designated Cambodian military sites.
Cambodia confirmed the strikes and reported bombs dropped near a road leading to a pagoda .
At least nine Thai civilians were killed, including a young boy, and 14 others were injured in Thai border provinces after counting shelling and rocket fire from the Cambodian side.
Major civilian targets—such as a gas station and a local hospital—were hit, and thousands have fled or been evacuated .
Diplomatic relations hit a low point. Thailand closed all border crossings and withdrew its ambassador. Cambodia responded in kind by downgrading relations and recalling its envoy.
The roots of the conflict trace back to colonial-era border ambiguities and recurring disputes over the Preah Vihear temple area. Renewed clashes in May and a landmine incident earlier in July intensified mistrust .
This aerial assault by Thailand, paired with Cambodia’s retaliatory fire, risks plunging the crisis into deeper conflict if diplomatic efforts and regional intervention fail to defuse tensions.