Crossing through the war zone along the border between Cambodia and Thailand has vividly clarified for me how peace is truly precious and difficult to find. The conflicts between the two countries in 2008 and 2025 amplified my national spirit. This diary presents my memories of the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict during the five days of fighting from July 24-28, 2025.
July 24, 2025
At 8.39am, I received a phone call from the team at the Documentation Center of Cambodia Headquarters (DC-Cam) in Phnom Penh requesting confirmation of whether weapons had been deployed at Ta Mone Temple. Mek Ven from the team at the Anlong Veng Peace Center called a friend who was stationed at the temple.
He received the very alarming news that the friend was fleeing because Thai forces had already shot at Khmer soldiers. The team and I immediately began providing continuous updates about the border situation to our team. Through social media and Telegram groups, I received information, especially from sources at the location of the gunfire. I answered calls with the team until 5.00pm.
I was extremely worried about my older brother, who serves as a soldier in the 382nd Battalion of the 8th Intervention Regiment, in Preah Vihear province. I had great difficulty contacting him because his phone was broken, so I had to reach him through other soldiers. I was relieved to learn that he was stationed at the rear command post in the village.
Through the window of the peace centre, I saw local residents crossing through Anlong Veng town very quickly, which I took as a sign of evacuation. BY noon, I saw people organising convoys of motorcycles, tuk tuks and vehicles of all types, hundreds of them loaded with belongings, leaving Anlong Veng district for Siem Reap province and other safe zones. Some had cattle, pigs and farming equipment with them.
After I returned home, my family discussed whether we should evacuate to our relatives’ homes in Sre Nouy district, Siem Reap province for safety. My mother was very hesitant because she didn’t want to separate the family. Unfortunately, we did not have enough transportation to evacuate everyone during emergencies. My family has six members, while our means of transportation consist of just two motorcycles.
That evening, my relatives from Sre Nouy called three or four times because they were worried about the border conflict. Late at night, my father and I decided to send my mother and two other younger siblings to Sre Nouy. The remaining three members stayed at home in Anlong Veng: my father, my older brother and me.
July 25, 2025
At 6am, I woke up and quickly packed clothes and important documents on my motorcycle, and then we travelled to Sre Nouy without even eating breakfast.
Along one section of the road from Anlong Veng to Siem Reap, I saw people in long convoys of cars and motorcycles. On the return trip, I saw even more refugees travelling in a variety of vehicles, carrying elderly people, children, cattle, pigs, food, clothing, blankets and farming equipment and supplies, with some families entering refugee camps about 20 kilometres away from Anlong Veng district town, and others passing through to Siem Reap province.
I observed that people had worried and distressed faces and were anxiously making phone calls. People felt sad that they had to abandon their homes. By the time I returned to Anlong Veng at 11.30am, Thai artillery shells had fallen on civilian villages, most notably in Samrong and near the O’Smach checkpoint.
At home, we prepared to enter a bunker which we dug under the house after the 2008 border conflict with Thailand.
Inside, we stored rice pots, canned goods and dried food sufficient for emergencies. We followed the news closely on battlefield radio. I looked at the yellow smoke of various shell explosions in Anlong Veng and listened carefully to the sound of artillery shells that could be heard from a distance. Fortunately Anlong Veng was safe, with no explosions like in the surrounding areas. On that same day, I learned about the ongoing incidents at Ta Mone Thom Temple, Ta Krabey Temple and the O’Smach checkpoint.
The atmosphere in the village was much quieter than before, and only one or two people remained in each house. Village leaders and neighbours shared fresh fish from the Anlong Veng Lake for everyone to cook and eat together.
By evening, I received news from my father that Phnom Trop had been attacked. Phnom Trop is a strategic location in Preah Vihear province, which is Cambodian territory. The worrying news was that many Cambodian soldiers stationed there had lost contact when Thai forces attacked, including with artillery and mortars. Some soldiers said we were organising forces to counterattack.
I was heartbroken because Phnom Trop was my father’s base station before he retired five years ago. I used to visit my father there during school holidays, though it had been more than a decade since I had done so. My father was a battlefield commander there during the conflicts over Preah Vihear temple with Thai forces from 2008 to 2011.
Phnom Trop is the highest strategic battlefield position of Cambodian forces with an elevation of more than 225 metres. Cambodian forces travelled up the mountain by two means: walking 649 steps on pedestrian trails or riding a cable car. I used to ride that cable car daily to bring food to each outpost. When riding the cable car, I always admired the view of Preah Vihear Temple.
As I remembered the temple, I was overcome by emotions as I thought about the life of the border guards in the mountain forest area. Soldiers had to endure cold weather, rainy seasons and difficult work. On top of Phnom Trop, there was a large tent, more than twenty square metres, and a very tall antenna tower. There, I learned about radio operations and listened to the reports from one outpost to another.
When I look at the photographs of the antenna tower, I recalled a memory from one October night when my father and several soldiers were telling ghost stories, while I laid on a large bag of rice designated for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.
My father told the tale of how once, when he went hunting animals in the forest, he encountered a squirrel that leapt from a tree into a hole in the ground. He dug out the hole to find the squirrel, then crawled into it. His flashlight shone on the squirrel, and when he pulled it out, he encountered a very long hair. I said that he must have been hunted by a ghost. That night, I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid of ghosts. Those memories remain vivid today.
July 26, 2025
In the morning, my father received a phone call from a former comrade at Phnom Trop. He said he had survived fierce Thai firing from artillery shells and mortar rounds.
In our role as civilians, we felt extremely anxious waiting for news. We still did not know whether Thai forces controlled Phnom Trop. I worried about the safety of frontline soldiers, and of my older brother. That day, I received news that Colonel Duong Samnieng, commander of the 7th Intervention Regiment of Cambodia, had died in an eastern strategic location near Preah Vihear Temple.
While I was sitting in my house, I saw an old man walking past carrying bags on both sides of his shirt and a backpack, wearing a raincoat. I asked him where he was going.
“I’m preparing to travel across Sre Nouy district but I’m waiting to see my grandchildren first. I heard there are bombs and artillery shells, which makes me afraid. It’s very difficult, especially with this rain. Even if we go to refugee camps, it will be difficult because my grandchildren will be uncomfortable. But these days, I hear artillery shells directly with my ears because I don’t have a phone to watch news,” he said.
“I pray to the water spirit, earth spirit and the guardian spirits of water and earth to help my grandchildren in forward positions, as well as those in the rear areas, to be safe and healthy,” he added.
July 27, 2025
That day, I woke up early. I sat outside and continued monitoring the news. I heard continuous artillery shells striking the same strategic locations in Samrong town, Ta Mone Thom temple, Ta Krabey Temple, O’Smach checkpoint and Preah Vihear Temple. The house’s tin roof started shaking violently, so much so that I was unable to stay in the bunker.
I also received information that Thai forces had used F-16 fighter jets to drop bombs that destroyed Preah Vihear Temple, which was built by our Cambodian ancestors. I considered this destruction immoral and a crime against humanity.
July 28, 2025
Early in the morning, I saw the news that Thai forces were continuing to attack Cambodia using fighter jets firing rockets, cluster bombs and even poison gas. I was extremely worried about the uncles and older brothers fighting along the border.
A cousin of mine advised my family to put garlic in a piece of cloth, then use it to cover our mouths and noses to prevent poison from entering the respiratory system. At 12.35pm, fearing poison, I prepared raincoats and thick blankets.
Later, a soldier on Phnom Dangrek Mountain gave us good news.
“Today the wind blows from the east to the west, and there’s rain again, which prevents poison gas from spreading to villages along the border strip,” he told us.
Upon hearing this, I felt relieved because I thought our country truly has guardian spirits protecting us.
We also received news that Thai forces had shelled Outpost 411.
I heard an announcement over loudspeakers from the chief house in the village of Anlong Veng district, but in my village, we could barely hear what he said. I called him, and he said that everyone remaining in the village was welcome to share a full metal pan of fish he had caught. I received two kilogrammes of fresh carp.
Later, I heard intense artillery shelling at the O’Smach checkpoint and Ta Mone Thom again.
A soldier on Phnom Dangrek Mountain told us that we should remain vigilant because the surrounding strategic locations had all been attacked, so they feared explosions in Anlong Veng on the final day. At the same time, I saw the news about ceasefire negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand taking place in Malaysia. We were very relieved to hear that there would be a ceasefire agreement at exactly midnight.
Starting at midnight, we stopped hearing artillery fire completely. I felt relieved, but also sad for the Cambodian soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland.
My heart was filled with national pride, and the desire to fulfil my military duty and defend the motherland in the coming years.
The historical battles of this place made me love my country more and inspired me to work for peace and territorial integrity. Cambodia needs peace, but we have continually faced aggression from Thailand and the arbitrary taking of human lives in the form of attacks from neighbouring countries.
Suot Vichet is a senior researcher at the Anlong Veng Peace Center. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
