Following a clash in May, borders have been closed and opening hours reduced. Locals used to crossing with ease say their lives are being disrupted. Tensions are also affecting politics and the economy.

A recent clash over contested areas along the Cambodia-Thailand border has resulted in the closure and restricted hours of key border crossings. This has left local residents, traders, and visitors facing significant disruptions, with many reporting sharp declines in income and deserted markets. 

The dispute has reignited fears in the region, prompting the construction of new shelters and bunkers at schools and villages as a precaution. The border, largely defined by colonial-era agreements, remains a source of tension, with both sides claiming certain unmarked territories. While some locals and experts call for stronger political leadership, others stress the need for grassroots solutions and dialogue to resolve the conflict. Retaliatory actions, such as the closure of additional crossings, continue to affect daily life for those living near the border.

How Cambodia-Thailand border dispute affects communities

This was one of the few remaining active border crossings between northeastern Thailand and Cambodia until Cambodia shut it down. Thai fuel trucks were forced to turn back, Cambodian visitors were left stranded and fruit stalls now sit deserted. I have a lot of expenses. I usually make around 90 euros a day, but now I barely make 10. If this keeps going, we'll have to shut down. Ever since the dispute over contested border areas flared up, a sense of fear has returned here – and not just over lost income. To get a sense of just how serious people here take this border dispute, take a look at these bunkers. Schools along the border with Cambodia are equipped with structures and shelters like this – a reminder that the shadow of conflict still looms. This Thai school is even building more shelters now. Workers here still remember 2011, the last major escalation, when a Cambodian grenade hit a nearby village. They're on the higher ground, so they've got the advantage. They just aim their guns and shoot. The villages are now doing the same, building bunkers. The two countries share an 817-kilometre border, largely drawn by French colonial powers over a century ago. That legacy left patches of unmarked territory, land both sides claim. The prime minister is too soft on this. I'm not saying we should go to war, but we need stronger leadership. She needs to stand her ground. Sutyen Pyu Chan has spent years mapping this border. But while he thinks Prime Minister Phethon Thanh Sinhawat was too conciliatory towards Cambodia in the recent phone call, he also believes only a grassroots solution involving the people who live on both sides of the border will work. The Cambodian fruit vendor I met earlier agrees. He's married to a Thai. I just want them to talk, not to fight, not to go to war. I want them to clear things up once and for all. Because in the end, it's us, the people, who suffer. But the tit-for-tat moves aren't stopping. Shortly after the Cambodian border closure, Thailand's military announced it was closing the Sisaket border crossing, in direct retaliation.

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Jerusalem

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