Army slams Cambodia over distorted claims, insists Thai strikes hit only military targets
The Thai army spokesman accused Cambodia of continuing to distort facts after taking foreign military attachés to view damage at Ta Muen Saen Chay Temple in Oddar Meanchey, insisting the site was a Cambodian troop assembly point in the border combat zone with no civilian casualties.
The Royal Thai Army has dismissed Cambodian allegations that Thai forces were responsible for extensive damage to civilian areas in Oddar Meanchey province during recent border clashes, describing the claims as a distortion of the facts.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Information earlier reported that Lt Gen Maly Socheata, spokesperson for the Cambodian Defence Ministry, had announced the visit of military attachés from nine foreign countries to Thmor Doun village in Kouk Mon subdistrict, Banteay Ampil district.
Cambodian authorities claimed the village was damaged by MK-84 bombs and shelling from Thai forces that hit homes, a school, and a health station. The visit was said to be in line with the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting resolution of August 7, 2025, which called on both sides to comply with the ceasefire agreement.
Maj Gen Winthai Suwaree, Royal Thai Army spokesman, said on Monday (August 11) that the Cambodian account was “an attempt to distort the facts”, stressing that the Thai military strictly adheres to international standards in using weapons only against military targets.
He asserted that all Thai strikes were effective in confining damage to designated military objectives.
He contrasted this with Cambodian forces, which he accused of deliberately targeting Thai civilian areas far from the combat zone, in some cases as far as 30 kilometres away.
According to Winthai, there are now over a hundred recorded impact sites in Thai civilian areas hit by Cambodian munitions—some exploded, others still live.
“These incidents have been thoroughly documented as evidence, which Cambodia cannot deny or evade responsibility for,” Winthai said, adding that such actions amount to deliberate attacks on civilian targets.
Regarding Cambodia’s arrangement for military attachés from nine countries to inspect damage at Ta Muen Saen Chay Temple in Kouk Mon subdistrict, Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meanchey province, the Royal Thai Army clarified that the site was a legitimate military target located just 1.8 kilometres from the Thai-Cambodian border, well within the combat zone.
Winthai said the location was not deep inside Cambodian territory by 20–30 kilometres, as Cambodian forces have done when striking Thai targets. He stressed that during the clashes, no civilians resided in the area, which was used solely by Cambodian troops as an assembly point to prepare assaults on Thai positions and as a command post for directing operations.
He maintained that the site’s proximity to the border and its military use made it a lawful target under the laws of armed conflict.
Reports of civilian casualties in that location, he said, were untrue, and any injuries or fatalities there would have been limited to Cambodian military personnel.
