Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand – As Thai and Cambodian officials meet for talks in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to cement a fragile ceasefire, sources on the ground say troops continue to build up on both sides of their disputed border.
Malaysia helped mediate a truce on July 28 that brought to an end five days of fierce clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces.
But the two neighbouring countries have accused the other of violating the terms of the shaky ceasefire, even while their officials attend border talks in Kuala Lumpur that began on Monday.
The four-day summit will conclude on Thursday with a meeting scheduled between Thai Deputy Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha, which will also be attended by observers from Malaysia, China and the United States.
“It can erupt at any time; the situation is not stable,” said Wasawat Puangpornsri, a member of Thailand’s parliament whose constituency includes Ubon Ratchathani province’s Nam Yuen district on the border with Cambodia.
On Tuesday, Wasawat Puangpornsri visited the area and said a large number of Thai and Cambodian troops were stationed some 50 metres away from each other around the Chong Anma border crossing in Nam Yuen district.
The ongoing tension has stymied efforts to return some 20,000 Thai people to their homes in Ubon Ratchathani, which came under attack on July 24 when simmering tensions exploded into heavy fighting between the two countries.
Wasawat Puangpornsri and other representatives from Thailand’s government were inspecting civilian homes damaged in the area during the fighting to assess reparation payments.
Residents of the area told Al Jazeera that they were already on high alert after a brief firefight in May left one Cambodian soldier dead and diplomatic relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh soured as a result.
Both militaries blamed each other for firing the first shots during the May incident and also the all-out clashes that erupted on July 24, which included Cambodian forces firing artillery and rockets into civilian neighbourhoods in Thailand and Thai fighter jets bombing Cambodia.
Local Thai resident Phian Somsri said she was feeding her ducks when the explosions started in July.
“I prepared for it, but I never really thought it would happen,” she said, sitting on the tile floor of a Buddhist pagoda where she has been sheltering for more than 10 days.
“Bombs were falling in the rice fields,” Phian Somsri said, recounting to Al Jazeera how she received a frantic phone call while gathering her belongings to flee.
One of her closest friends, known affectionately as Grandma Lao, had just been killed when a rocket struck her house.
“I was shocked and sad, I couldn’t believe it, and I hoped it wasn’t true. But I was also so scared, because at that same time I could hear the gunfire and bombs, and I couldn’t do anything,” she said.
‘I pray everything will be all right and peaceful’
When the guns fell silent on July 28 after five days of fighting, at least 24 civilians had been killed – eight in Cambodia and 16 in Thailand – and more than 260,000 people had been displaced from their homes on both sides of the border.
While the ceasefire is holding, both countries continue to accuse the other of violations since the ceasefire went into effect – even while the General Border Committee meeting talks in Kuala Lumpur got under way this week to prevent further clashes.
Cambodia’s former longtime leader Hun Sen claimed on Sunday that a renewed Thai offensive was imminent, although it never materialised.
Despite handing power to his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in 2023, Hun Sen is largely seen as being the country’s real power and continuing to call the shots.
The head of a district in Ubon Ratchathani, located away from the fighting and where displaced Thai people evacuated to, also confirmed that people are not yet returning home due to the ongoing tension and reports of renewed troop build-ups.
The district official, who asked that his name not be used as he was not authorised to talk to the media, said the Thai military is wary of its Cambodian counterpart.
“They don’t trust the Cambodian side,” he said, adding that many of the evacuees have been traumatised by their recent experience.
Netagit, 46, a janitor for a village hospital, told how he was taking refuge at a bomb shelter near a Buddhist temple when his house was destroyed by rocket fire on July 25.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do next,” he told Al Jazeera while inspecting the ruins of his home.
Netagit had lived here with his two children, his wife and her parents. Now his family’s personal belongings have spilled into the street and concrete walls painted a bright blue are crumbled, while a corrugated iron roof lies strewn across the ground in pieces.
At first, he tried to hide the news from his kids that their house had been destroyed.
“I didn’t want to tell them, but they saw the pictures and started crying,” Netagit said. “I’m just trying to prepare myself for whatever comes next,” he added.
Displaced residents in this district hope the outcome of the border talks in Kuala Lumpur will bring stability, but continued troop movements and diplomatic sparring are leaving them anxious.
After a week away from home, Phian Somsri’s husband was allowed to briefly return to check on their property.
By then, all of her ducks had died, she said.
“I feel really overwhelmed, and I just want to go home,” she said.
“I pray everything will be all right and peaceful between the two countries.”
