ISLAMABAD: The ongoing border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have displaced around 700,000 people on both sides of the frontier, as the death toll has risen to 23 since Monday, officials and local media reported.
Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said 274,403 people have been relocated to shelter camps, with more residents continuing to flee affected areas, according to the state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse.
“These figures represent only those who have taken refuge at safety centers organized by provincial authorities,” the ministry said, adding that the numbers do not include people who evacuated independently. “As of this morning, civilians continue to flee to safe areas across all affected provinces.”
The ministry confirmed that 11 civilians have been killed and 76 injured since Dec. 7.
On Thursday, Ministry of National Defense spokeswoman Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said one Cambodian soldier was also killed in the clashes, the Khmer Times reported. It was not immediately clear whether the soldier was included in the civilian death toll cited by the Interior Ministry.
On the Thai side, Defence Ministry spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said earlier this week that more than 400,000 people have been evacuated to shelters across seven border provinces.
Thai authorities reported that nine soldiers and three civilians have been killed so far, while 190 others were injured.
The violence comes despite a peace deal signed in October in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Thailand and Cambodia have a long-running border dispute that has triggered repeated clashes. In July, fighting killed at least 48 people. Around 18 Cambodian soldiers remain in Thai custody following incidents over the past five months.
The land border has remained closed since July, severely restricting cross-border movement and trade.
