PinnedA monthslong standoff between Cambodia and Thailand turned into a deadly exchange of fire along their contested border on Thursday that killed at least 11 civilians and a soldier, according to Thai officials.Both nations accused the other of striking first, in the worst hostilities between the Southeast Asian neighbors in more than a decade.The Thai army said that Cambodia had fired rockets into civilian areas in four Thai provinces, prompting Thailand to send F-16 fighter jets to strike targets in Cambodia and order the evacuation of border areas. The clashes killed at least 11 Thai civilians and one soldier, and injured 24 civilians and seven soldiers, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said.Cambodian officials, who did not immediately confirm reports of casualties, said that Thai soldiers had opened fire on Cambodian troops first, at Prasat Ta Muen Thom, a temple claimed by both nations. It said Cambodian forces returned fire some 15 minutes later. People in Samraong, a Cambodian district near the border, said they were still hearing gunfire hours after the clashes began.The tensions began in late May after the death of a Cambodian soldier in a border skirmish between troops from both sides. The dispute escalated on Wednesday when a Thai soldier lost his leg in a land mine explosion at the border.Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has been suspended from office amid the crisis but remains leader of the country’s governing party, condemned what she called Cambodian aggression. She said on social media that Cambodian forces had “initiated the use of arms and fired into Thai territory — impacting both officials and innocent civilians.”Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia said in a statement that his nation had “no choice but to respond with armed force against this armed invasion.”Here’s what else to know:Last major clash: In 2011, a week of fighting in territory disputed between the two nations killed at least 15 people, including civilians, and displaced tens of thousands of people.Disputed territory: The border between the countries in Surin, the province in northeastern Thailand that is at the center the fighting, has been contested for years. Surin is known for being home to ruins from the Khmer Empire, which flourished from around the 9th to roughly the 13th century. These include Prasat Ta Muen Thom, a temple on the Thai side of the border whose ownership is disputed by the countries, and where gunfire erupted on Thursday. Read more ›Thailand’s political crisis: The tensions with Cambodia had already led to Ms. Paetongtarn’s suspension from office and protests calling for her resignation. Last month, Hun Sen, a powerful former Cambodian prime minister who is the father of the country’s current leader, leaked a recording of a private phone call he had with Ms. Paetongtarn in which she referred to him deferentially as “uncle” and made disparaging remarks about the Thai military.China’s role: The fighting between Thailand and Cambodia presents a potential diplomatic opening for Beijing, which has increased its economic and political influence in both countries at a time when governments in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly wary of the United States. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Guo Jiakun, said on Thursday that Beijing was “deeply concerned” by the skirmishes and that Beijing had been working to facilitate talks between the two sides. Read more ›A correction was made on July 24, 2025: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a Cambodian spokesperson. It is Chhum Socheat, not Chuum Socheat.When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn moreJuly 24, 2025, 12:28 p.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandRoyal Thai Army soldiers Chachoengsao Province on Thursday.Credit...Lillian Suwanrumpha/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPhaiboon Yerngram, a Thai rice and sugar cane farmer who lives near the border with Cambodia, was doing laundry on Thursday morning when an announcement piped over the village loudspeaker.“Everyone, pack up,” she recalled the announcer saying.Within minutes, at around 8 a.m., she heard gunfire. The shooting, Ms. Phaiboon, 58, said, appeared to come from both sides of the border.“I was panicking,” she said. She scrambled to pack for her 9-month-old granddaughter and her own mother. Together with 10 of her relatives, they fled to the nearest evacuation site.Two hours later, her husband, who stayed behind to watch the family’s cattle, called to say a bomb had dropped in a canal about 500 meters from their house.Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia had been simmering for weeks, but few residents were prepared for their lives to be upended seemingly in an instant. Thousands of people in Thailand were asked to leave their homes near the border.The extent of disruption to the everyday lives of civilians in Cambodia was not immediately clear, but a group of monks said they had moved away from a pagoda near the border.In Thailand, in the district of Kap Choeng, loud explosions in the morning put residents on edge.“Boom, boom, boom,” said Payao, 45, a rice farmer, who asked to be identified only by her first name. “I felt vibrations many times.” She then had to pick up her 4-year-old daughter from school and evacuate.In the Kantharalak district, Witchaiyuth Thammaboon left the border area when the fighting broke out. “I wasn’t expecting things to be this bad,” he said in a phone interview. “I’m worried. This is beyond what I thought.”A group took shelter at Surindra Rajabhat University on Thursday.Credit...Sui-Lee Wee/The New York TimesMs. Phaiboon, who ended up with her granddaughter and other relatives at the evacuation center at Surindra Rajabhat University, lamented the deterioration of ties between Thailand and Cambodia.“The Thai people always traveled back and forth. They could come and visit us, we could go and visit them,” she said of the Cambodians. “I don’t know whether it’ll ever be safe again.”Sun Narin contributed reporting from Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, and Kittiphum Sringammuang from Bangkok.July 24, 2025, 12:21 p.m. ETZunaira SaieedAnwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia who spoke by phone with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday, said in a Facebook post that both had appeared willing to hold talks, and that he had appealed for an immediate cease-fire. “I welcome the positive signals and willingness shown by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh to consider this path forward,” he said.July 24, 2025, 11:09 a.m. ETZunaira SaieedEdgard D. Kagan, the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia, described the clashes as disturbing and called on Thailand and Cambodia to de-escalate tensions. “We obviously believe the best way forward is through diplomacy,” he said on Thursday at the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Kuala Lumpur. “It is possible for an agreement if all sides take appropriate steps.”July 24, 2025, 10:33 a.m. ETThailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was plunged into crisis over a recent phone call with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s de facto leader.Credit...Chalinee Thirasupa/ReutersThe fighting is taking place alongside a domestic crisis in Thailand that threatens the dynasty that has dominated the country’s politics for decades.The crisis began when the longtime Cambodian leader, Hun Sen, made public a private telephone conversation from June 15 with Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The prime minister, 38, is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire tycoon who is himself a former prime minister.The topic of the phone call was the border dispute. The problem for Ms. Paetongtarn is that she appeared to Thai listeners to give undue deference to the 72-year-old Mr. Hun Sen. She called him “uncle” and also appeared to disparage her own country’s military, a taboo for any Thai politician, given its central role in a country that has experienced frequent coups.Hun Sen in 2022. He was Cambodia’s prime minister for nearly four decades and has remained the country’s de facto leader since officially handing power to his son.Credit...Kenzo Tribouillard/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMs. Paetongtarn apologized and argued that her demeanor on the phone was a diplomatic tactic. Even so, the perceived tone of the conversation, which was conducted through interpreters, caused an uproar.Mr. Hun Sen was prime minister of Cambodia for nearly four decades and handed the premiership to his son, Hun Manet, in 2023. But Mr. Hun Sen remains the country’s de facto leader as well as president of the senate.In the ensuing weeks there were calls for Ms. Paetongtarn to resign and a defection from her governing coalition. Street protests stoked fears of a coup, given Thailand’s turbulent history of military takeovers.A group of senators submitted a petition to the country’s constitutional court, seeking Ms. Paetongtarn’s removal. On July 1, the court agreed to consider the complaint and suspended her with immediate effect.Ms. Paetongtarn, who on Thursday condemned Cambodia’s actions, said she accepted the court’s decision and would present her case. Analysts, however, say that her options are limited: resignation, the dissolution of parliament or a military intervention are all possible, they say. The court has granted her until July 31 to present her defense.The crisis is the latest in a country mired for decades in a cycle of coups and protests, in which the royalist-military establishment has repelled any threats to its power. Since the early 2000s, the military has twice overthrown democratically elected governments linked to the Shinawatras.July 24, 2025, 9:11 a.m. ETSun NarinReporting from CambodiaI’m traveling to the Cambodian side of the shared border region and am in touch with civilians there in the Samraong district of Uddar Meanchey Province. They are telling me that they are still hearing gunshots.July 24, 2025, 8:57 a.m. ETKittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokAbout 6 million people in Thailand who live in four provinces near the Cambodian border have been advised to evacuate by the country’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and relocate to at least 31 miles from the border. More than 100,000 people who live on the Thai side of the border are expected to leave their homes.July 24, 2025, 8:48 a.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandI have arrived at the campus of Surindra Rajabhat University, one of two evacuation sites in Surin Province. More than 1,600 people are spending the night here. Dozens of residents are lying on straw mats in a university hall, with electric fans whirring to fend off the intense heat. Many family members are lying shoulder to shoulder on a single mat, surrounded by their suitcases and backpacks. Children are walking around, carrying stuffed toys.July 24, 2025, 8:29 a.m. ETSun NarinReporting from CambodiaCambodia’s culture ministry said that the Preah Vihear Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had sustained “significant damage” and blamed Thailand. “The destruction of Preah Vihear Temple is both a cultural disaster and a moral tragedy,” the ministry said.July 24, 2025, 8:24 a.m. ETBoth sides have deployed heavy weaponry in the clashes. Thailand has launched F-16 fighter jets, an American warplane used by more than a dozen countries. The Thai Army also claimed that Cambodian forces hit targets with rocket launchers and artillery.July 24, 2025, 7:33 a.m. ETPeople taking shelter in Surin Province after deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday.Credit...Pansira Kaewplung/ReutersSurin, the province in northeastern Thailand that is at the center of the fight with neighboring Cambodia, is less well known internationally than other parts of the country. But its border with Cambodia has been contested for years.Surin has a population of around 1.4 million and receives relatively few overseas visitors than other parts of Thailand, like the southern island of Phuket and the city of Chiang Mai in the north.The province, part of northeastern Thailand’s Isan region, is an important agricultural center. Jasmine rice and sugar cane are two important crops, and silk farming and weaving also provide a livelihood for many people. Politically, Isan has for years been a stronghold of Thailand’s powerful Shinawatra dynasty.Surin’s southern edge borders Cambodia. The province’s main city, also called Surin, is about 215 miles northeast of the capital, Bangkok.People in Surin speak Khmer as well as Thai — highlighting the cultural overlap with Cambodia, where Khmer is the official language. The province is known for ruins from the Khmer Empire, which flourished from around the 9th to roughly the 13th century.One such ruin is Prasat Ta Muen Thom, a temple on the Thai side of the border whose ownership is disputed by the two countries. Hun Sen, Cambodia’s de facto leader, alleged in a social media post that a Thai military commander had “started this war” by ordering the closure of the temple on Wednesday, and opening fire on Cambodian troops the next day Thursday.Thailand has accused Cambodia of starting the conflict.Gunfire erupted on Thursday near the temple, one of several in the area, which is part of the forested Dangrek mountains that straddle the border. Civilians were killed in four Thai border provinces, including Surin, the Thai government said.The shared heritage of the border region, where the Khmer language is widely spoken, provides a backdrop to a longstanding territorial dispute that has at times flared into violence.It stems from a map created by colonial officials in 1907 which sought to define the frontier between Cambodia, then under French rule, and the kingdom then known as Siam.Arguments about where the border should be led to decades of disputes, and an intervention by the International Court of Justice in 1962 failed to resolve the disagreement.Sun Narin contributed reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.July 24, 2025, 6:52 a.m. ETSun NarinReporting from CambodiaCambodian officials have held a news conference repeating their assertions that Thailand instigated the deadly fighting on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Defense Ministry, Maly Socheata, said that Thai soldiers had opened fire before 9 a.m. and that Cambodian troops had fired back. She said the clashes took place at eight locations in the disputed area and accused Thailand of attacking military zones as well as civilian areas, although she did not say whether there had been any casualties.Pen Bona, a government spokesman, said that Cambodia had not laid new land mines in the area where a Thai soldier lost his leg on Wednesday, an episode that set off the latest fighting. “Thailand ignited the clash,” he said.July 24, 2025, 6:42 a.m. ETKittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokThailand’s Second Army Division said that four Thai F-16 fighter jets had launched a second round of attacks against the Cambodian Army at 4:30 p.m., south of the Ta Muen Thom temple claimed by both countries.July 24, 2025, 6:31 a.m. ETAn elevated track that is part of the Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed railway project in Thailand, which was funded by China.Credit...Jack Taylor/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe fighting between Thailand and Cambodia presents a potential diplomatic opening for China, which has increased its economic and political influence in both countries at a time when governments in Southeast Asia are becoming increasingly wary of the United States.China is both countries’ largest trading partner and has invested heavily in infrastructure in each. In Thailand, it is helping the government build a railway to connect Bangkok and southwestern China. In Cambodia, China is building a huge airport and has financed the construction of government buildings and the country’s first-ever expressway.Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, visited Beijing in February and pledged to expand law enforcement cooperation with China. Weeks later, the Thai government deported 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China at Beijing’s request — despite intense international pressure not to do so, given concerns that the Uyghurs, a persecuted minority in China, would be tortured or detained upon their return.In Cambodia, Beijing’s influence is even clearer. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, recently ended a tour of Southeast Asia with a state visit to the country, where top officials often refer to China as their “greatest friend.” Beijing has refurbished a naval base in Cambodia, where Chinese warships now dock. A major boulevard in the capital, Phnom Penh, was recently named for Mr. Xi.The Chinese-funded Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia.Credit...Getty ImagesAt the same time, American influence in the region has been strained, especially by President Trump’s trade wars. Mr. Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on imports from both Thailand and Cambodia, making it easier for Mr. Xi to court them.Chinese officials have sometimes explicitly drawn a contrast between Beijing’s warm ties with the countries and their relations with the United States. This month, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, met with Cambodia’s deputy prime minister, Prak Sokhonn, and criticized U.S. tariffs as “an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate rights to development,” according to a Chinese government readout.Mr. Wang also promised to play a “constructive role” in negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand in their border dispute, which had been simmering for weeks before the exchange of fire.A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Guo Jiakun, reiterated that sentiment on Thursday. Asked about the skirmishes at a regular news briefing, Mr. Guo said China was “deeply concerned.” He said that both Thailand and Cambodia were “friendly neighbors” of China and that Beijing had been working to promote peace and facilitate talks.July 24, 2025, 6:24 a.m. ETFootage released by Thailand’s public broadcaster on Thursday shows thick smoke billowing from a gas station convenience store in the Kantharalak district of Sisaket Province, near the Cambodian border. The Thai Army said the station had been hit by Cambodian rocket fire, causing six deaths and 10 injuries. The footage shows firefighters working to put out the blaze. Other video posted online and verified by The New York Times shows civilians rushing to leave the burning site, and at least one motionless body on the back of a pickup truck.VideoCreditCredit...TPBS, via ReutersJuly 24, 2025, 5:49 a.m. ETKittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokThailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, alleged that Cambodian forces had targeted civilian areas in Thailand. Schools in the border area had been closed and field hospitals were being set up for the wounded, he said at a meeting of the country’s National Security Council. He added that the clashes did not appear to be spreading to other areas.July 24, 2025, 5:02 a.m. ETKittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokThe clashes killed at least 11 Thai civilians and one soldier, and injured 24 civilians and seven soldiers, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement.July 24, 2025, 5:23 a.m. ETKittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokSomsak Thepsuthin, Thailand’s public health minister, said in statement that Cambodia had attacked a hospital. The accusation could not be independently confirmed.July 24, 2025, 3:19 a.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandThe Thai Army said that nine civilians have been killed in the clashes with Cambodia and 14 injured.July 24, 2025, 2:46 a.m. ETA Thai soldier and a Cambodian soldier standing guard at an ancient Khmer temple along the disputed Cambodian-Thai border in Oddar Meanchey Province in March.Credit...Tang Chhin Sothy/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesCambodian and Thai troops engaged in deadly clashes on Thursday along their contested and heavily patrolled border, prompting evacuations of residents and unraveling diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors. Thai officials said that at least a dozen people were killed.The two countries have a long-running nationalist rivalry and military clashes have occasionally turned deadly. Here is a timeline of the tensions:1907The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The map was the basis of Cambodia’s claims to certain parts of the border, but its vagueness led to conflicting interpretations, and Thailand contested it.The countries tried to resolve the dispute diplomatically, but the issue was never settled completely, even after transnational bodies like the International Court of Justice intervened in 1962. At stake were areas like centuries-old historical temples.2008-11Military fighting has broken out intermittently since 2008. The last time tensions turned deadly was in 2011, when the fighting focused on a jungle border area including ancient temples to which both sides had laid claim. Each side blamed the other for starting and prolonging the fighting.The two nations declared a cease-fire after seven days of fighting killed at least 15 people and displaced tens of thousands of civilians. That same year, a United Nations court ordered the two nations to withdraw troops and establish a demilitarized zone, but the court left unresolved who would control a larger disputed territory, where troops kept clashing.May 28, 2025The border dispute worsened again earlier this year. In a skirmish between the two countries, a Cambodian soldier was killed. The soldier’s death brought the relations between the countries to the lowest point in years.June 15Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand spoke with Cambodia’s de facto leader, Hun Sen. The call was meant to resolve the tensions between the two countries.June 18A recording of the call that Mr. Hun Sen posted to his Facebook page ignited an outcry in Thailand. Ms. Paetongtarn urged him to ignore the Thai military, referring to it as “the opposite side,” and called him “uncle.” She also offered to “arrange” anything that he wanted.Her comments drew condemnation from Thai lawmakers, both in her coalition and the opposition. They said she appeared to disparage her own country’s military and took too much of a deferential tone with another country’s leader. Thai leaders called on her to resign.July 1Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Ms. Paetongtarn, accepting a petition to the court brought by a group of senators who sought her removal and accused her of violating ethics standards in her call with Mr. Hun Sen.She apologized again and said personal gain had not been the purpose of her conversation with Mr. Hun Sen.July 23A Thai soldier lost his right leg in a land mine explosion. Thailand said it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling its ambassador to Cambodia and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador.July 24, 2025, 2:38 a.m. ETThe last time that a major clash between Cambodia and Thailand turned deadly was in 2011, when about a week of fighting in disputed territory killed at least 15 people, including civilians, and displaced tens of thousands of civilians.July 24, 2025, 2:22 a.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandThailand’s army says all its F-16 fighter aircraft have returned safely after striking two Cambodian targets.July 24, 2025, 2:04 a.m. ETSun NarinReporting from CambodiaCambodia’s leader, Hun Manet, called on the president of the U.N. Security Council to convene an urgent meeting to stop what he called “Thailand’s aggression.”Credit...Tang Chhin Sothy/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJuly 24, 2025, 1:59 a.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandThaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister who has been a force in Thai politics for more than two decades, on social media blamed Hun Sen, the de facto Cambodian leader, for initiating the fighting.Shinawatra is the father of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the recently suspended Thai prime minister.July 24, 2025, 1:58 a.m. ETAt least one Thai civilian was killed after Cambodian troops opened fire along the border in Surin Province, Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri, a Thai government spokesman, said in a news conference. Three civilians, including a 5-year-old boy, were seriously injured, he added. The spokesman said Cambodian troops had fired heavy weapons including rocket launchers and artillery, damaging homes and public buildings.Credit...Royal Thai Army, via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJuly 24, 2025, 1:15 a.m. ETSui-Lee Wee and Kittiphum SringammuangReporting from BangkokThailand’s army says it now has F-16s planes engaging with targets in Cambodia.July 24, 2025, 1:03 a.m. ETIn a statement posted to social media, Cambodian officials confirmed the attack and condemned the “brutal military aggression” of Thailand on Cambodian sovereignty.July 24, 2025, 12:50 a.m. ETSui-Lee WeeReporting from Surin Province, ThailandTensions between Thailand and Cambodia rose significantly this week after a Thai soldier lost his right leg when a land mine exploded near the border. Thailand said it would downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia, recalling its ambassador to Cambodia and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador.July 24, 2025, 12:50 a.m. ETCivilians ran for cover as the sound of gunfire rang through the air in Surin Province, Thailand, near the border of Cambodia. Each nation accuses the other of firing the first shots.Videotranscriptbars0:00/0:13-0:00transcript[gunshots]CreditCredit...TPBS, via Associated Press