Under Thai Bombs: The Silent Ordeal of Cambodian Civilian

Between the evening of December 10 and December 11, 2025, Cambodia’s northwest border was engulfed in fire and devastation, leaving behind heavy human and emotional tolls.

Refugees from Svay Thmey, Serei Sophorn, Banteay Meanchey

Under Thai Bombs: The Silent Ordeal of Cambodian Civilians

Between 6 p.m. on December 10 and December 11, 2025, the northwest border of Cambodia was transformed into a corridor of fire, leaving a heavy human and emotional toll in its wake.

According to official reports, ten Cambodian civilians have already died and about sixty others have been wounded by gunfire and strikes coming from Thai territory — acts that Cambodia says blatantly violate international law and its sovereignty. Most of the injured are still fighting for their lives in overcrowded hospitals where medical teams are working tirelessly to treat the influx of casualties.

Behind these numbers are countless individual tragedies — families torn apart, children ripped from their sleepy villages in the dead of night, and elderly people forced to flee with barely a moment’s notice. In once-peaceful rural areas, silence has been replaced by sirens, explosions, and the lingering smell of smoke.

A Massive Internal Exodus

Since the renewed attacks began on December 7, a massive internal displacement has been unfolding across the border provinces. By the morning of December 11, more than 57,000 families — about 197,754 people — had been forced to abandon their homes in provinces including Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, and Siem Reap.

Secondary roads are now choked with long lines of overloaded trucks, motorcycles stacked with belongings, and makeshift carts carrying whatever families could salvage — sacks of rice, rolled-up mattresses, cages with animals, and fragile household goods.

Official figures, however, tell only part of the story. Many residents chose to flee on their own, seeking shelter with relatives or in distant pagodas far from the reach of counting systems. Provincial authorities’ emergency reception centers are already overwhelmed, with schools, community halls, and other public spaces turned into improvised dormitories where a single mat and a blanket on the floor define people’s only personal space.

Ghost Towns and Paralyzed Public Services

On the ground, numerous villages have become little more than shadows of themselves. Artillery strikes and F-16 air raids by Thai forces have hit homes, business buildings, administrative offices, schools, pagodas, and even ancient temples up to 30 kilometers inside Cambodian territory, leaving roofs torn off, walls caved in, and classrooms buried in rubble.

Already fragile public services in rural areas are being severely disrupted. Hundreds of schools and several health centers have had to close or evacuate, depriving students of education and patients of essential medical care. Local roads — vital for bringing in humanitarian assistance — are sometimes cut off or rendered dangerous by ongoing gunfire and the craters left by explosions.

A Call for National and International Solidarity

Amid this crisis, the Cambodian Ministry of the Interior has emphasized its determination to protect civilians and document each attack in order to hold accountable those responsible on the international stage. Local authorities, the armed forces, and emergency responders are working together to secure evacuation corridors, organize refuge centers, and distribute food, safe drinking water, and medical aid.

Cambodge Mag

This official mobilization has been met with widespread solidarity across the country, with donations ranging from cash contributions to trucks loaded with rice sent by associations and individual donors to support people in need.

Cambodge Mag

The Cambodian government is also urging the international community to unequivocally condemn the cross-border attacks on populated areas and to apply diplomatic pressure to halt the violence. Behind the rhetoric of conferences and official communiqués, the core demand of tens of thousands of women, men, and children is simple: to be able to return home safely — to land that is recognized and respected as fully and sovereignly Cambodian.