Thailand Rejects Trump’s Claim That It Reached a Cease-Fire With Cambodia

The conflict appeared to have continued unabated on Saturday morning, a day after President Trump said a cease-fire was supposed to have resumed.A damaged bridge in Cambodia’s Pursat Province on Saturday.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSui-Lee Wee and Sun NarinSui-Lee Wee reported from Bangkok and Sun Narin from Pursat Province in Cambodia.Dec. 13, 2025, 2:20 a.m. ETThe Thai government on Saturday rebuffed President Trump’s announcement that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to a cease-fire, as its prime minister pledged to continue military action and the standoff between the two countries intensified.There was confusion overnight in Thailand and Cambodia after Mr. Trump said on Friday that both sides had agreed to a cease-fire “effective this evening,” hours after the Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters that he had laid out his government’s position to Mr. Trump. But Mr. Anutin did not mention a cease-fire, and Thailand’s foreign ministry later confirmed that there was no such truce.“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” Mr. Anutin said in a Facebook post on Saturday. “I want to make it clear.”Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, said he had spoken with Mr. Trump “to find ways to have a cease-fire” and return to the peace deal that was brokered by the president in October in Malaysia. He did not say that a cease-fire had been reached.The statements from both Thailand and Cambodia indicate that any halt in the fighting, which has entered its sixth day, is not imminent. The clashes this week have killed at least 20 people and displaced more than half a million.Thailand accused Cambodia of indiscriminately firing rockets at homes in the village of Sao Thong Chai in Sisaket Province on Saturday around 9 a.m. Photos posted on social media showed homes on fire and injured residents being shuttled out. Thailand’s army said four civilians were injured in the attack, and that two of them were in critical condition.Cambodia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.ImageA BM-21 multiple-rocket launcher in Siem Reap Province, on Friday.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesEarlier, Thai F-16 fighter jets bombed a hotel and a bridge in Cambodia’s Pursat Province, Cambodia’s defense ministry said. Thailand confirmed that it had hit those targets, destroying the bridge which it described as a key route for Cambodian reinforcements and supplies. The Thai air force said the attack was conducted early in the morning and with precision bombs to avoid collateral damage.It said the hotel was a casino, one of several that the Thai armed forces have targeted in the past week, that was being used as a military installation and drone command center. At 6 a.m., Thai jets bombed the building, the air force said, adding that it had not razed the building but “disabled” it so that it could no longer be used as a military command center.Chuob Chhouk, who was sheltering in a pagoda in Cambodia’s Siem Reap Province, said she had heard two explosions on Saturday morning.Ms. Chuob, 50, a vegetable seller, said she had fled 50 miles from her home to the pagoda, where she had been sheltering since Monday after fighting broke out. She said she was very worried about her husband, a soldier at the front line.“I want a real cease-fire, not just words,” Ms. Chuob said.Un Saruon, 25, who lives about nine miles from the site of the clash, in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey Province, said he had heard heavy shelling at around 6 a.m. on Saturday.“Thailand is still firing,” he said. “How can we have a cease-fire?” He added: “I don’t think the war will stop soon. The word ‘cease-fire’ is only coming from Mr. Trump.”For decades, Thailand and Cambodia have sparred over territorial claims on the nearly 500-mile-long boundary between them. Many parts of the undefined border are home to ancient temples that are important cultural and religious symbols for both sides. Over the years, the leaders of the two Southeast Asian countries have used these temples to rally nationalist support. In July, both sides fought a five-day war that killed at least 40 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.The latest round of fighting escalated significantly on Monday when Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodia in retaliation for what it said was the killing of a Thai soldier and the wounding of others. Mr. Trump said it was a “roadside bomb” that had killed and wounded the Thai troops, describing it as “an accident, but Thailand nevertheless retaliated very strongly.”ImagePrime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of Thailand, center, during a news conference in Bangkok on Friday. Mr. Anutin told reporters that he had laid out Thailand’s position to Mr. Trump, but he did not mention a cease-fire.Credit...Chanakarn Laosarakham/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesMr. Anutin said it “was definitely not a roadside accident.”On Friday night, he said he had told Mr. Trump that his country had not violated the peace deal, saying it was necessary for “Thailand to retaliate to protect our nation and our people.” He added, “This is why I had to explain to the president or he might misunderstand and see us as the aggressor.”In a social media post, Mr. Hun Manet said he had suggested to both Mr. Trump and Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, that the United States and Malaysia use their information gathering capabilities such as satellite imagery to verify which side opened fire first.Kittiphum Sringammuang and Muktita Suhartono contributed reporting from Bangkok.Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region.SKIP