Prime Minister Hun Manet has appealed to ASEAN, the United Nations, and key world leaders to help safeguard a fragile ceasefire with Thailand, as tensions along the shared border continue to escalate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) announced.
According to the ministry, Hun Manet sent official letters to Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN Chair Anwar Ibrahim, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th UN General Assembly. Similar appeals were also addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“These communications are intended to draw the attention of global leaders to the unfolding situation along the Cambodia–Thailand border, which poses a serious threat to peace and stability between the two countries and the wider region,” the ministry stated.
The prime minister expressed deep concern over recent developments that have widened the conflict zone beyond Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces. He urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire commitments reached during recent meetings of the General Border Committee and the Regional Border Committee.
Tensions have intensified since August 12, when Thai forces reportedly expanded their activities by installing barbed wire, erecting barricades, issuing ultimatums, and forcibly evicting Cambodian villagers from long-established settlements in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan, Banteay Meanchey Province. The MFAIC reported that about 25 families have already been displaced, with hundreds more at risk if evictions continue.
The ministry further warned that the Thai military has signaled intentions to seize land at 17 additional locations spanning from Pursat to Koh Kong provinces.
The situation flared again on September 17, when Thai security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse Cambodian protesters in Banteay Meanchey, leaving more than 20 people injured—the first such incident since the July ceasefire, according to Agence France-Presse.
Information Minister Neth Pheaktra confirmed that 27 individuals, including a soldier and a Buddhist monk, were wounded in the clash.
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