Even as peace talks continued, the sound of bombs echoed along the border.
On Friday, Cambodia accused Thailand of intensifying military attacks in disputed border areas—at the very moment both countries were sitting down to negotiate an end to the violence.
The accusation came as officials from Cambodia and Thailand entered their third day of talks at a border checkpoint, hoping to calm a conflict that has already turned deadly.
Bombs During Negotiations
According to Cambodia’s defense ministry, the situation worsened early Friday morning.
From 6:08 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., Thai forces allegedly deployed F-16 fighter jets, dropping as many as 40 bombs on disputed areas in Chok Chey village, located in Banteay Meanchey province.
For Cambodia, the timing was alarming.
Talks were ongoing.
Yet the bombardment, they said, continued.
Thailand Pushes Back
Thailand, however, told a different story.
Thai media reported that Cambodian forces launched heavy overnight attacks along the border in Sa Kaeo province, damaging several homes due to shelling.
As has happened before, both sides blamed each other—each claiming self-defense, each accusing the other of targeting civilians.
A Conflict Reignited
The fighting marks a sharp return of a long-simmering border dispute that flared up again this month, shattering an earlier ceasefire.
According to official figures, more than 40 people have been killed, and nearly one million civilians have been displaced, forced to flee their homes amid the violence.
Clashes have now spread across nearly every province along the shared border.
Hope for a Ceasefire?
Despite the renewed fighting, diplomatic efforts continue.
Defense ministers from both Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to meet on Saturday, raising cautious hopes for progress.
Earlier on Friday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he spoke by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, discussing “ways to secure a ceasefire along the Cambodia–Thailand border.”
The United States, China, and Malaysia previously helped broker a truce in July, ending five days of deadly clashes. But that ceasefire proved fragile—and short-lived.
A Border Drawn by History
At the heart of the conflict is a colonial-era border dispute—an 800-kilometer frontier marked by unclear boundaries and ancient temple ruins claimed by both sides.
Decades later, those unresolved lines continue to fuel tension, violence, and loss.
For now, talks continue.
But so does the fighting.
And along the border, families wait—hoping the next sound they hear is not another bomb, but the silence of peace.
