Latest news with #SurindraRajabhatUniversity
LeMonde
a day ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Behind Cambodia-Thailand flare-ups lie deep-seated political rivalries and gambling
Refugees in a gymnasium at Surindra Rajabhat University in Thailand's Surin Province, bordering Cambodia, on July 24, 2025. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP After four days of brutal armed confrontation along the Cambodia-Thailand border, the prime ministers of both countries agreed on Monday, July 28, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to observe a ceasefire starting at midnight. The meeting was held under the auspices of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Bangkok was represented by Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting prime minister since the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in June. Phumtham is a close associate of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who returned from exile in 2024 and father of Paetongtarn. (In Thailand, leaders are referred to by their first names.) Hun Manet, the Cambodian prime minister who traveled to Kuala Lumpur and is the son of Cambodia's longtime strongman Hun Sen, welcomed a solution "to move forward." July 28 also marks the birthday of the Thai king, Rama X, making it a symbolically significant date in this kingdom rife with political rivalries. Celebrations in Bangkok have been suspended. US President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Saturday evening with the prime ministers of both countries, and claimed credit for securing a ceasefire by telling them: "We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war." Nevertheless, artillery fire was heard again at dawn on Sunday: a 59-year-old Thai man was killed at his home in Sisaket Province by a Cambodian BM-21 rocket – also called "Stalin's organs" – whose unexpected use by Cambodian forces on July 24 gave this long-running border conflict a new dimension. Thailand reported 22 deaths, including eight soldiers, while Cambodia confirmed 13 deaths, including five soldiers, following Thai retaliatory strikes. Thailand evacuated 139,000 people, compared to 35,000 in Cambodia. You have 76.42% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Thai woman escapes with beloved cats while under fire in Cambodia clashes
Pornpan Sooksai sitting with her cats as they take shelter in a gymnasium on the grounds of Surindra Rajabhat University in the Thai border province of Surin on July 25, 2025. - AFP) SURIN: When the first salvo of Cambodian artillery screamed across her village, Thai seamstress Pornpan Sooksai's thoughts turned to her five beloved cats: Peng, Kung Fu, Cherry, Taro and Batman. "I suddenly heard a loud bang," the 46-year-old told AFP. "Then our neighbour shouted, 'They've started shooting!' So everyone scrambled to grab their things." Nearly 140,000 people have been evacuated from the Thai frontier, fleeing with the belongings dearest to them as the country trades deadly strikes with neighbouring Cambodia for a second day. Pornpan was hanging out laundry in her village in the border district of Phanom Dong Rak, but did not hesitate to corral her quintet of cats -- even as the cross-border blasts rang out. "Luckily they were still in the house. I put them in crates, loaded everything into the truck, and we got out," she said at a shelter in nearby Surin city, camping out alongside her fellow evacuees. Tensions have been building between Thailand and Cambodia since late May, when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a firefight over a long-contested border region. Tit-for-tat trade curbs and border closures escalated into conflict on Thursday, and each side has accused the other of firing the opening shot in the battle now being waged with jets, artillery, tanks and troops. At least 16 people have been killed, according to tolls from both sides, the majority of them civilians. But Pornpan was well-prepared to save her felines. "Since I heard about the possible conflict two months ago, I stocked up on food and bought cat carriers," she said. "If I leave the cats behind, they'd die." Alongside her cats, Ponrpan also evacuated nine other family members, including her elderly mother with Alzheimer's. The process took its toll once the adrenaline wore off midway through their escape. "I was terrified the whole time. I was scared the bombs would hit us or the house," she said. "I had a panic attack in the car. My body went numb. I had to go to hospital during the evacuation." At the Surin city shelter her cats have been installed in their portable kennels -- drawing curious children waiting out the conflict alongside their parents on the gymnasium floor. Skittish from the sudden onset of gunfire, they are slowly recovering from their ordeal. "One kept trying to escape its crate, wouldn't eat and kept crying," Pornpan said. "Another one was panting -- maybe heatstroke. I had to splash water on it." - AFP
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Thailand-Cambodian clashes force 100,000 into Thai shelters
Desperate evacuees, huddled on plastic mats in a sports hall in Thailand, have described fleeing from thunderous artillery bombardments as heavy fighting has escalated between Thailand and Cambodia. The worst fighting in more than a decade between the neighbouring countries has forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate from their homes across four Thai border provinces by Friday. As artillery fire echoed on Thursday, thousands from northeastern Surin province abandoned their homes for makeshift shelters established in the town centre. Nearly 3,000 people crowded the sports hall of Surindra Rajabhat University, packed onto rows of plastic mats covered with colourful blankets and hastily gathered possessions. 'I'm worried about our home, our animals, and the crops we've worked so hard on,' Thidarat Homhuan, 37, told the AFP news agency. She evacuated with nine family members, including her 87-year-old grandmother who had just been released from hospital. 'That concern is still there. But being here does feel safer, since we're further from the danger zone now. At least we're safe,' she said. Thidarat was babysitting at a local school when she heard what she described as 'something like machinegun fire', followed by heavy artillery thuds. 'It was chaos. The kids were terrified. I rushed to the school's bunker,' she said. Inside the shelter, evacuees slept alongside one another beneath the gym's high ceiling, surrounded by electric fans humming and the quiet whispers of uncertainty. Elderly residents lay wrapped in blankets, infants slept in cradles, while children played quietly. Pet cats rested in mesh crates near the public restroom. This marks the first full activation of the university as a shelter, according to Chai Samoraphum, director of the university president's office. Classes were immediately cancelled, and within an hour, the campus transformed into a functioning evacuation centre. Evacuees from four border districts were distributed across six locations throughout the campus. 'Most of them left in a hurry. Some have chronic health conditions but didn't bring their medications, others only managed to grab a few belongings,' Chai told AFP. The centre, with assistance from the provincial hospital, is providing care for those with chronic illnesses and offering mental health services for trauma victims, Chai explained. The border fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand, including one soldier and civilians killed in a rocket strike near a Sisaket province petrol station, officials reported. One Cambodian has also been confirmed killed. As fighting continues near the border, evacuees face uncertainty about when they can return home. For now, the shelter provides safety and a place to await signals that it's safe to 'go back to normal life', Thidarat said. She already has a message for the authorities: 'I want the government to take decisive action – do not wait until lives are lost. 'Civilians look up to the government for protection, and we rely on them deeply,' she said. Across the border in Cambodia, about 20,000 residents have evacuated from the country's northern border with Thailand, the Khmer Times news organisation said, quoting officials in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Thailand and Cambodia's deadly border dispute: What We Know
Evacuees line up for food they take shelter in a gymnasium on the grounds of Surindra Rajabhat University in the Thai border province of Surin on July 25, 2025. More than 100,000 people have fled the bloodiest border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in a decade, Bangkok said on July 25, as the death toll rose rises and international powers urged a halt to hostilities. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP Thailand said on Friday it has evacuated more than 100,000 people along the Cambodian border as the two countries fight their bloodiest military clashes in over a decade. The interior ministry said 100,672 people from four border provinces had been moved to shelters, while the health ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 14. Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, in a sharp escalation of a long-running border dispute. The two countries are locked in a bitter feud over parts of the Emerald Triangle, where their borders meet Laos and several ancient temples stand. How did it start? The territorial row has dragged on for decades, but the latest flare-up between the two countries began with military border clashes in May that left one Cambodian soldier dead. Since then, the two sides have hit each other with retaliatory measures, with Thailand restricting border crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports. Five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine blast on Wednesday in the Nam Yuen district of northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province, according to the Thai army. The Thai Ministry of Public Health said Thursday that at least 11 civilians had been killed in cross-border strikes by Cambodia. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry declined to comment on Thursday when asked about casualties on its side. What happened? The conflict blazed on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery into Thailand, and Thai F-16s carried out strikes on two Cambodian military targets, officials said. A Cambodian shell hit a Thai house, killing one civilian and wounding three, including a five-year-old. The clashes erupted near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey, with both sides trading blame. Thailand condemned Cambodia as "inhumane, brutal and war-hungry", accusing it of targeting homes and civilian infrastructure. What is the state of diplomacy? The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after the landmine injuries. Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia "as soon as possible" unless they had urgent reasons to remain. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday requested the UN Security Council convene an "urgent meeting" to address what his foreign ministry called "unprovoked military aggression". China, a close ally of Cambodia, said it was "deeply concerned" about the clashes, calling for dialogue. Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called on its fellow ASEAN members, Thailand and Cambodia, to "stand down". Thai political crisis? The border dispute has also triggered a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct. In an attempt to defuse the row, Paetongtarn held a diplomatic call with Hun Sen, Cambodia's former longtime ruler and father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. The phone call was leaked from the Cambodian side last month, sparking a judicial investigation. Cambodia's future conscripts? Hun Manet announced this month that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law. He cited rising tensions with Thailand for the decision. Cambodia's conscription law dates back to 2006 but has never been enforced. Hun Manet has proposed conscripts serve for two years to bolster the country's 200,000 personnel, requiring citizens aged 18 to 30 to enlist in the military. AFP
France 24
5 days ago
- General
- France 24
Fear and relief in Thai shelter as Cambodia clashes rage
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in four Thai border provinces amid the worst fighting between the two neighbours in over a decade. As artillery fire thundered on Thursday, thousands of people in northeastern Surin province fled their homes and sought refuge in makeshift shelters set up in the town centre. In the sports hall of Surindra Rajabhat University, nearly 3,000 people were packed tight on rows of plastic mats, scattered with colourful blankets and hastily packed personal belongings. "I'm worried about our home, our animals, and the crops we've worked so hard on," Thidarat Homhuan, 37, told AFP. She fled with nine other family members, including her 87-year-old grandmother who had just been discharged from hospital. "That concern is still there. But being here does feel safer, since we're further from the danger zone now. At least we're safe," she said. Thidarat was babysitting for a teacher at a local school when she heard what she described as "something like machine gun fire", followed by the heavy thud of artillery. "It was chaos. The kids were terrified. I rushed to the school's bunker," she said. Inside the shelter, evacuees slept side by side beneath the gym's high roof, surrounded by the hum of electric fans and quiet murmurs of uncertainty. The elderly lay bundled in blankets, babies dozed in cradles while youngsters played quietly. Pet cats rested in mesh pop-up crates near the public restroom. 'Worse than 2011' It is the first time the university has been fully activated as a shelter site, said Chai Samoraphum, director of the university's president's office. Classes were abruptly cancelled, and within an hour, the campus was converted into a functioning evacuation centre. Thousands of evacuees from four districts next to the border were placed into six locations across the campus. "Most of them left in a hurry. Some have chronic health conditions but didn't bring their medications, others only managed to grab a few belongings," Chai told AFP. With help from the provincial hospital, the centre is also caring for people with chronic illnesses and providing mental health services for those struggling with trauma, Chai said. Border clashes between the two nations have left at least 14 people dead in Thailand, officials said, including one soldier and civilians caught in a rocket strike near a petrol station in Sisaket province. Thidarat said the current conflict feels more severe than the last major clashes in 2011. "It wasn't this serious back then. People's houses weren't damaged like this. There were no announcements about civilians being injured," Thidarat said. "This year is much worse -- the number of deaths and injuries is really devastating." As clashes go on near the border, there is no clear timeline for when people can return home. For now, the shelter provides a sense of safety -- and a place to wait for a sign that it's safe to "go back to normal life," Thidarat said. She already had a message for those in power: "I want the government to take decisive action -- don't wait until lives are lost." "Civilians look up to (the government) for protection, and we rely on them deeply," she said.
