By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH (Worthy News) – Thailand and neighboring Cambodia moved towards war on Thursday with a Thai F-16 fighter jet bombing Cambodian targets across the border as a border dispute escalated into clashes that reportedly killed at least 12 people, including 11 civilians.
Of the six F-16 fighter planes that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. The Thai army added that it carried out airstrikes on two Cambodian military installations.
Both countries accused each other of starting the fighting early Thursday.
Footage reviewed by Worthy News purportedly showed the Royal Cambodian Army shelling several Thai border towns with multiple rocket launchers.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the shelling was in response to actions by the Thai army near temples in the provinces of Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, and Ubon Ratchathani.
The Cambodian leader requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the violence, saying it “gravely threatened peace in the region”.
The Royal Cambodian Army shelled several Thai border towns with multiple rocket launchers, witnesses said.
CLOSING BORDERS
In response, Thailand announced it had closed its border with Cambodia because of these attacks.
Thailand’s Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said 11 civilians, including an eight-year-old boy, and a soldier had been killed in artillery shelling by Cambodian forces.
He said 24 civilians and seven military personnel had been wounded.
Somsak told reporters that Cambodia’s actions, including an attack on a hospital, should be “considered war crimes.”
The fighting has led to the evacuation of at least 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations, according to authorities in Thailand’s Surin province.
Residents were seen fleeing to bomb shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tyres.
Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have escalated in recent months due to an armed conflict in territory claimed by both sides.
HISTORICAL DISPUTE
The conflict between the two mainly Buddhist nations is part of a decades-long border dispute, particularly over the Preah Vihear temple.
Observers said similar clashes occurred in 2008 and 2011.
Amid regional calls for mediation, Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that fighting had to stop before negotiations.
He said there had been “no declaration of war” and that the fighting was not spreading to other provinces.
However, with fighting rapidly escalating, there were concerns Thursday that the clashes could rapidly escalate into a broader regional armed conflict.
It was not immediately clear what impact the fighting would have on minorities, including Christians, who are a tiny part of both nations’ populations.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A new report from Barna Group reveals a striking shift in America’s spiritual climate, with nearly three in ten U.S. adults believing a spiritual revival could emerge within the next year. The research, conducted in partnership with Gloo as part of the 2026 State of the Church initiative, points to a growing openness to faith—especially among younger generations.
Israel announced Wednesday that it has completed a major phase of its military campaign against Iran, declaring that nearly all predesignated “vital and strategic” targets have been successfully struck under Operation Roaring Lion.
President Donald Trump has discussed with senior advisers the possibility of withdrawing the United States from NATO if European allies fail to assist in reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials, signaling mounting strain within the decades-old alliance.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared Tuesday night that U.S. military operations in Iran are approaching their final phase, signaling that the conflict could soon come to a close after weeks of intense engagement.
A sword-wielding man from the U.S. state of Massachusetts has been arrested for allegedly making threats to kill President Donald J. Trump and “hang him” from the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Four astronauts are on their way to the Moon after the U.S. space agency NASA launched the Artemis II mission, marking the first crewed lunar flight in more than five decades.
The United Arab Emirates is preparing to assist the United States and allied nations in reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force, marking a significant strategic shift that could make it the first Persian Gulf state to formally enter the conflict against Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal.