Cambodia has withdrawn all its athletes from the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand as a surge in border clashes with its neighbor escalates into a humanitarian and security crisis, just a day after the Games officially opened.
The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) cited urgent safety concerns and repeated requests from athletes’ families as the primary reason for the sudden pullout.
NOCC chief Vath Chamroeun wrote to the Southeast Asian Games Federation that “due to serious concerns and requests from families, we must withdraw our delegation and arrange for their prompt return to Cambodia.”
The Games, hosted in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi through Dec. 20, had brought together thousands of athletes from Southeast Asia, competing in football, skateboarding, fencing, sailing, combat sports, and more.
Tuesday’s opening ceremony at the Rajamangala National Stadium, attended by Thai royals and K-pop star BamBam, had a small Cambodian delegation marching in the parade amid heightened security.
But renewed fighting along the disputed Cambodia-Thailand border has overshadowed the celebration.
Both sides blame each other for triggering the clashes, which on Tuesday expanded across five provinces.
The conflict has resulted in at least 11 deaths – seven Cambodian civilians and four Thai soldiers – and dozens more injured. These are the deadliest border confrontations since July, when five days of fighting left dozens dead before a fragile, U.S.-brokered truce.
The dispute centers on century-old border demarcations from French colonial times, with both nations claiming several temples along the frontier.
The renewed clashes have displaced more than 500,000 people, surpassing evacuations from similar fighting earlier this year.
In response, Cambodia has closed over 500 schools in five border provinces, while Thailand has shut nearly 1,000 schools across six provinces, with some converted into emergency shelters.
Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata accused Thai forces of launching attacks across multiple military regions, including shelling and bombing around temples in Military Region 4, deploying infantry and tanks into border zones in Military Region 5, and flying F-16 fighter jets over villages in Banteay Meanchey province.
Thailand has not immediately responded to these claims.
In turn, the Thai military reported that Cambodian troops fired a rocket that landed near Phanom Dong Rak Hospital, forcing patients and medical staff into bunkers.
Both governments are grappling with the humanitarian fallout, as thousands of displaced families seek safety amid the violence.
