Ceasefire Under Siege: Thai Troops Accused of Looting Cambodian Villages in Pursat

In a scandal shaking the fragile border peace, Thai soldiers looted shops and homes in Pursat, violating the ceasefire signed on December 27, 2025, between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

The Cambodian Ministry of the Interior denounces these raids as acts of pure banditry, occurring while several hundred thousand displaced people are waiting to return home. Amplified by videos and eyewitness accounts, the affair raises questions about the reliability of Thai commitments in the face of a violated Cambodian sovereignty.

The Sangkum Thmei Raid

On January 4, 2026, in the Sala Kreng district of Pursat, a Thai patrol forced entry into eight homes in the village of Sangkum Thmei, taking four motorcycles, two municipal garbage carts, agricultural tools, and valuable personal belongings. Residents, ordered to leave or allowed only a brief return, discovered ransacked homes: locks pried open, furniture overturned, and possessions gone under the pretext of “operational security.”

Bangkok downplays the incident, promising restitution upon presentation of receipts, but Phnom Penh sees it as organized theft, condemned by the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. This is not an isolated incident: similar reports are emerging from Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey, where Thai bulldozers are razing fences and wells, while barbed wire and containers block access to entire villages such as Prey Chan and Chouk Chey. Families, already traumatized by months of shelling, now face dispossession, with profound psychological impacts on rural communities dependent on these assets to survive.

Witnesses describe scenes worthy of the sack of an ancient city: uniforms rummaging through drawers and granaries, muffled laughter over the spoils, under the helpless gaze of terrified villagers.

A Fragile Ceasefire

Signed after weeks of deadly escalation that began in July 2025 around disputed areas such as Preah Vihear, the ceasefire provided for mutual withdrawal and the creation of a Joint Border Commission. Yet as early as January 1, 2026, Bangkok deployed armored vehicles and flags on Cambodian soil, demolishing schools and pagodas with bulldozers.

On January 5, an “accidental shot” by Cambodia reignited mutual accusations, but it is the series of looting incidents that has crystallized outrage.

Government spokesperson Pen Bona lists the grievances: illegal occupation of 12 border points, destruction of 150 homes, and systematic theft of livestock and harvests. Thailand counters by accusing Phnom Penh of provocations, but video evidence of Thai looting—released by the Ministry of the Interior—tips the balance.

Humanitarian Response Forum (HRF) warns of a humanitarian crisis: 6,000 residents trapped, emerging epidemics, children out of school, and critically depleted food stocks. The toll continues to rise: more than 1,200 homes damaged, 45 pagodas affected, and a rural exodus toward an overwhelmed Phnom Penh.

Testimonies: The Pain of Forgotten Victims

“Our motorcycles were our only way to reach the fields. They took them without a word, laughing,” a farmer from Pursat told the Phnom Penh Post.

A mother recounts:

“They went through our cupboards, took our clothes, our rice… Our children cry at night, terrified by the sound of armored vehicles.”

These anonymous voices pierce the official narrative, humanizing a tragedy in which civilians serve as shields in age-old territorial disputes around Preah Vihear and other contested zones. A displaced grandmother sobs: “My ancestral home, inherited from my forebears, was razed in an hour. Where will we go?”

Stakes

This conflict reopens the wounds of 2008–2011, when 30 soldiers died over a UNESCO-listed temple. This time, civilians are paying the price: a shattered rural economy, cross-border tourism at a standstill, and heightened ASEAN tensions. Phnom Penh is mobilizing international opinion, referring the matter to the UN on January 6 for “aggressive occupation,” with calls for an intermediary peacekeeping force.

Bangkok, under internal nationalist pressure, risks diplomatic isolation if the looting continues, while Beijing and Washington watch closely, ready to weigh in on this Southeast Asian powder keg. The recent release of 18 Cambodian soldiers had offered hope for de-escalation—hopes now dampened by these barbaric abuses.

Without strong ASEAN mediation, the risk of escalation looms. An effective Joint Commission, under UN auspices, is essential to map borders and punish those responsible—looting soldiers or complicit officers alike. As night falls on these ghost villages, one burning question remains: will the ceasefire survive the voracity of these barbarians at the gates? History will judge, but the victims are waiting for concrete action, not empty promises.