Cambodia shuts border schools amid rising tensions with Thailand

Cambodia has closed 377 schools along its border with Thailand as escalating hostilities disrupt education for tens of thousands of students.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) said the closures affect around 78,600 students and 3,197 teachers across four provinces, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Authorities cited security concerns after what they described as Thai military attacks across the border.

The Ministry of National Defence reported that Thai forces had fired into civilian areas in Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, and Banteay Meanchey provinces. The shelling is said to have caused injuries, destroyed homes, and forced thousands, including women, children, and the elderly, to evacuate to temporary shelters.

Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, spokeswoman for the Ministry of National Defence, said Thai troops resumed firing at around 5:04 a.m. local time on December 8, targeting both military and civilian locations near border sites such as the Preah Vihear Temple zone, An Ses, and Tamone Thom Temple.

The renewed violence follows initial shelling that reportedly began at 2:15 p.m. on December 7, escalating fears of further instability along the border.

The conflict stems from a long‑standing territorial dispute dating back to colonial times. Under a 1907 map drawn by French colonial administrators, the border between then‑Siam and Cambodia placed certain territories — including the 11th‑century Preah Vihear Temple and surrounding lands — under Cambodian sovereignty. 

In 1962, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, a decision upheld again in 2013 after Cambodia sought clarification. However, the ruling left parts of the surrounding border area — including disputed hills and border land — unresolved. 

When Cambodia’s government listed Preah Vihear as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, tensions flared. Many in Thailand viewed this as legitimising Cambodian control over contested terrain, triggering violent clashes that recurred from 2008 to 2011 and have erupted again in recent years. 

Decades of unresolved demarcation, historical grievances, and nationalist sentiment have thus made this border region a flashpoint — even after legal rulings.

By Aghakazim Guliyev