Diplomats witness fallout from Cambodian attacks on Thai border

Thailand today took foreign envoys and military attachés to visit sites that were attacked by Cambodian forces, including hospitals, schools, and a convenience store, during the five-day bloodiest fighting between the two countries.

The group received a briefing on the situation in the area, which included reports of damage and alleged violations of the ceasefire agreement by Cambodian forces.

They then visited a convenience store at a petrol station in Kantharalak district, Si Sa Ket province, which was hit and severely damaged by rockets fired by Cambodian forces.

Eight Thai civilians, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed in the attack.

The group proceeded to Phu Mueang Srol Witthaya School in Saothongchai subdistrict to inspect the damage, and then continued to Ban Cham Meng Health Promoting Hospital in the same subdistrict.

Both the school and the hospital were attacked by Cambodian troops, despite being facilities for sick civilians and young students.

Their final stop was a temporary shelter facility in Si Sa Ket, where they observed the conditions faced by displaced civilians.

Thai Army spokesperson Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree stated that the visit was arranged for ambassadors, deputy chiefs of mission, military attachés, foreign journalists, and Thai media—nearly 200 individuals in total, who traveled in separate groups.

He said the main objective was to show the impact of Cambodian military actions targeting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, gas stations, and convenience stores.

The final stop at the shelter aimed to highlight how uninvolved civilians have been affected.

“This is an opportunity for international observers to see the facts on the ground and share what they witnessed globally,” he said.

“Unlike the Cambodian side, we have taken the delegation to actual incident sites, all of which are located dozens of kilometers away from the front-line combat zones.

Many foreign envoys expressed appreciation for the Thai Army’s swift response to international media and said it helped them understand the situation more clearly, Winthai said.

Participating diplomats and military representatives included:

• Ambassadors from 3 countries: Brunei, Japan, Myanmar
• Deputy Chiefs of Mission from 3 countries: Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia
• Other diplomatic representatives from 5 countries: United States, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Philippines
• Military attachés from 23 countries: China, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Germany, India, Laos, Canada, France, United States, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Italy, Netherlands, Indonesia, Sweden, Switzerland, Brunei, Turkey, United Kingdom