Around 40,000 residents evacuated from Thai border areas after clashes with Cambodia
People rest inside a shelter, after Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery on Friday as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, in Surin, Thailand, July 25, 2025. - REUTERS
SURIN, Thailand: Clashes between Thailand and Cambodia has prompted the evacuation of approximately 40,000 residents from more than 80 villages in Thailand's Surin province and nearby border areas.
AI Brief
- Thai officials report 14 deaths and 46 injuries, while Cambodia reports one death and five injuries from cross-border shelling.
- Thousands have evacuated from Thai border provinces to shelters as artillery fire continues and fears of escalation grow.
- Both sides accuse each other of violating international law, with villagers expressing fear, stress, and disruption to daily life.
Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey deputy governor, Met Meas Pheakdey, said that one villager was killed and five others were wounded on Thursday when the Thai side fired artillery shells into Cambodian territory, according to media reports.
The situation escalated following skirmishes that began Thursday morning, with each of the two sides blaming the other side for violating international law.
A China Global Television Network (CGTN) correspondent visited a temporal settlement site near the border area in Surin Province.
"If we stayed at home, it would not be safe so we have to come here. We want it to be peaceful and then we can go back to work normally. We don't want this kind of thing to happen. We want to go to work normally and live a normal life. We have expenses, debts, and have to send our children to school. We have to pay debts. If we stay like this, we won't be able to work and we have to think about it. It's stressful too," said Sayan Sarngsourn, a villager from Surin Province.
"This morning, the village headman first informed us in the group chat about evacuation. Then about five minutes later, there was the sound of heavy weapon fire, which kept getting louder and louder. So we evacuated," said another villager Keattichai Nongjit
The governors of four Thai provinces, Surin, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, and Ubon Ratchathani, have all issued evacuation orders to relocate people to safe shelters.
"We currently have about 4,500 people sheltering in this center, which has the capacity to accommodate up to at least 10,000 people. That's the overall situation now," said Pongphon Pattanaprateep, deputy chief of Mueang Surin District.
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