More than half a million Cambodians have been driven from their homes following two weeks of intense and deadly clashes with neighbouring Thailand, according to Cambodia’s Interior Ministry.
In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry said at least 518,611 people—many of them women and children—have been evacuated after being forced to flee their homes and schools to escape artillery fire, rocket attacks and air strikes involving Thailand’s F-16 fighter jets.
Thailand has also reported significant displacement, with authorities in Bangkok saying about 400,000 people have been uprooted on their side of the border as a result of the renewed conflict.
The latest violence between the two Southeast Asian neighbours has involved tanks, drones and heavy artillery. Officials say the fighting has so far left at least 22 people dead in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia.
At the heart of the conflict is a long-standing territorial dispute linked to the colonial-era demarcation of their roughly 800-kilometre (500-mile) shared border, as well as several ancient temple sites located along the frontier.
Both countries have accused each other of sparking the latest round of hostilities and of carrying out attacks that endangered civilians. Earlier clashes in July had already claimed dozens of lives after five days of fighting.
International actors, including China, the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Malaysia in its role as ASEAN chair, have urged both sides to agree to a ceasefire.
ASEAN foreign ministers, including those from Cambodia and Thailand, are expected to meet on Monday in Kuala Lumpur to deliberate on the escalating crisis.
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