The territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand escalated into a direct armed confrontation on 24 July 2025 along the Cambodia–Thailand border. Although both governments subsequently agreed to an unconditional ceasefire on 28 July 2025, hostilities later resumed in December, during which Thai forces seized several towns and strategic hills in contested areas near the frontier.
Tensions had sharply increased on 23 July, when a Thai soldier was seriously injured after stepping on a PMN-2 anti-personnel landmine in Nam Yuen district, Ubon Ratchathani province. The incident served as the immediate trigger for wider hostilities. On the following day, direct armed clashes erupted across multiple sectors of the border. Thai media widely reported that Cambodia's BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, which struck Thai residential neighbourhoods, a hospital, and a gas station, acted as the catalyst for the outbreak of full-scale fighting on 24 July 2025. Both sides asserted that their actions were taken in self-defence and accused the other of initiating the conflict. The clashes resulted in the displacement of more than 200,000 civilians across northeastern Thailand and northern Cambodia.
