More than half a million people in Cambodia have been displaced from their homes by two weeks of deadly border clashes with neighboring Thailand, Phnom Penh's Interior Ministry said on Dec. 21.
The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month, including with tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia, according to officials.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.
"At present, more than half a million Cambodian people, including women and children, are suffering severe hardship due to forced displacement from their homes and schools to escape artillery shells, rockets, and aerial bombardments carried out by Thailand's F-16 aircraft," Cambodia's interior ministry said in a statement, giving the total number of people evacuated as 518,611.
Around 400,000 people have been displaced in Thailand due to the reignited border conflict, Bangkok has said.
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians, after five days of clashes in July killed dozens.
The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed in Kuala Lumpur to prolong their truce.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.
Bangkok has accused Cambodia of laying fresh mines, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.
