Razor wire splits a village
In Chouk Chey, Cambodia, razor wire now cuts straight through the village and nearby sugarcane fields.
Thai soldiers rolled it out on 13 August, ordering families to leave.
Thirteen Cambodian families have been cut off from their homes and farmland where they’ve lived for decades.
Thai vs Cambodian claims
Thailand says the land belongs to them and put up warning signs accusing Cambodians of encroachment.
Cambodia argues the border should follow old stone markers placed over 100 years ago.
Conflict background
Fighting erupted in July after months of tension, leaving around 40 dead.
A ceasefire is in place, but nationalist rhetoric and social media anger keep tensions high.
Trade has collapsed — Cambodia is losing around $1 million a day in customs revenue.
Thai tourism to Cambodia has dried up, and hundreds of thousands of Cambodian workers left Thailand.
Impact on heritage sites
The 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was damaged by shelling in late July.
Cambodia says Thai forces shelled the temple more than 140 times, leaving craters, shattered stairways, and unexploded cluster munitions.
Thailand denies targeting the temple, accusing Cambodia of using it as a military base — something observers say seems unlikely.
Politics fueling the fire
Cambodia accuses Thailand of aggression.
Thailand blames Cambodia for escalating tensions, pointing to months of troop build-ups.
A leaked conversation between Cambodia’s former PM Hun Sen and Thailand’s ex-PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra worsened tensions, even leading to Paetongtarn’s removal by Thailand’s Constitutional Court.
Life for displaced people
Around 5,000 Cambodian families remain in muddy camps with poor sanitation and basic food.
On the Thai side, displaced families were able to return home within days.
Many Cambodians say they’re too scared to go back because of unexploded shells and constant warnings of more attacks.
The bigger picture
Cambodia, much poorer than Thailand, is suffering more from the border closure.
Cambodian officials publicly call for peace, but fear of being the “smaller country” against a stronger neighbor lingers.
Both sides are using nationalist rhetoric, making peace harder to achieve.
A voice from the camp
“As I live close to the border I don’t dare go back,” said one displaced woman.
