A dangerous escalation unfolded on Thursday as Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian military targets near their disputed border, following a series of deadly clashes that have claimed at least 11 civilian lives.
The conflict, which threatens to spiral into a broader regional confrontation, follows the injury of a Thai soldier in a landmine explosion on Wednesday. The incident prompted Thailand to shut down all border crossings with Cambodia.
Thailand’s northeastern 2nd Regional Military Command announced via Facebook that F-16 fighter jets had been deployed and claimed two Cambodian military support units were “destroyed.” Army spokesperson Col. Richa Suksuwanont confirmed the strikes were aimed solely at military targets.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense responded by condemning the airstrikes, which reportedly occurred near the UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple. The ministry described the action as “brutal, barbaric military aggression” and a violation of international law.
“Cambodia reserves the right to lawful self-defense and will respond decisively,” the statement warned. “Our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the kingdom’s sovereignty—whatever the cost.”
Military officials confirmed that armed clashes broke out at six locations along the disputed border earlier on Thursday. Civilians were among the casualties, with homes, livestock, and public infrastructure damaged.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health confirmed 11 civilian deaths and at least 35 injuries. Among the victims was an 8-year-old boy, the Thai military reported.
A Cambodian rocket reportedly struck a busy gas station in Kantharalak, Sisaket province, killing six people and injuring ten others. Geolocated video footage shows a damaged 7-Eleven store, smoke, and wounded individuals lying outside.
Thailand further accused Cambodian forces of firing BM-21 Grad rockets into civilian areas in Surin province, including at a local hospital. Footage aired by Thai PBS showed residents running for cover amid gunfire and sheltering in bunkers.
“The Royal Thai Armed Forces condemns these inhumane attacks on civilian targets and is prepared to respond to protect our sovereignty and citizens,” a military statement read.
Thailand also accused Cambodia of planting landmines inside Thai territory, another breach of international law.
Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai described the situation as “delicate” and emphasized that any response must remain within the bounds of international law.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to “stop Thailand’s aggression.”
The latest clashes follow the injury of five Thai soldiers in a landmine explosion on Wednesday. In response, Thailand downgraded diplomatic ties with Cambodia—recalling its ambassador and expelling Cambodia’s envoy from Bangkok.
The two nations share a complex relationship, with decades of both cooperation and tension. Their 800-kilometer border, drawn by French colonialists during their rule of Cambodia, has long been a flashpoint.
In 2011, skirmishes near the Preah Vihear temple left at least 20 people dead and displaced thousands.
This latest flare-up reportedly began early Thursday when Cambodia deployed a drone near the Ta Muen Thom temple—located near the border in Thailand’s Surin province. Thailand claimed Cambodian troops fired on a Thai army base, triggering the exchange of gunfire with small arms and heavy weapons.
Cambodia, however, disputes this account. Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata insisted their forces were responding to “an unprovoked incursion” by Thai troops.
Prime Minister Hun Manet also accused Thailand of attacking Cambodian army positions at several temple sites, urging citizens to remain calm and unified. The landmine attacks, which cost two Thai soldiers their legs in the past week, have only intensified the situation.
Tensions have spilled into domestic politics. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended earlier this month after a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen—Hun Manet’s father—surfaced, in which she appeared to question her own army’s conduct.
According to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University, the conflict “is likely to get worse before it gets better,” warning that further escalation may be imminent.
🚨 Heavy artillery and Grad rocket shelling reported along the Cambodia–Thailand border.
A new war is approaching: Heavy fighting broke out on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, — CNN.
The Royal Cambodian Army shelled several Thai border towns with multiple rocket launchers. In response, Thailand closed its border with Cambodia because of these attacks.… pic.twitter.com/HwJVxxfipp
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) July 24, 2025
Benin Republic’s military says around a dozen soldiers have been arrested following an attempted coup, including the ringleaders of the foiled operation.
Thirteen people were said to have been detained.
While all but one of the suspects are serving soldiers, the remaining detainee is said to be a former member of the armed forces.
It was reports that arrests come after a group of military officers appeared on Benin’s national television on Sunday morning, announcing the removal of President Patrice Talon and the dissolution of all state institutions.
The officers, who identified themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, claimed to have seized power.
However, the presidency said that President Talon is safe and that loyalist forces are restoring order. It described the incident as the work of a small group with limited influence.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” the presidency said.
The Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273.4 kilograms of various cannabis strains—including Colorado, Loud, and Skunk—with several members of drug trafficking networks arrested in connection with the seizures.
The Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol 225mg and 100mg, and others as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta state on Saturday 6th December 2025, while no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect Kelechi Nwakocha, 35, on Wednesday 3rd December.
In Adamawa state, NDLEA officers on Monday, 1st December 2025, intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol and Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects: Kabiru Buba, 25, and Hamza Abubakar, 32, were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another suspect, Mudansir Rabiu, 27, was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of Exol-5.
Operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA stormed forests in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti state, where they destroyed 14,654 kilograms of skunk and arrested two suspects: Yusuf Iliyasu, 50, and Okumu Chinedu, 26. In another operation, the operatives on Tuesday, 2nd December, stormed the forests in Asin-Ekiti, Ikole LGA, Ekiti state, where they destroyed 54,300kg of skunk in two large warehouses that were razed, while 28.3kg of the same psychoactive substance was recovered for prosecution.
Following actionable intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 2nd December, raided Igoba forest in Akure North LGA, Ondo state, where a total of 2,483 compressed blocks of skunk and 247 bags of the same substance, all weighing 5,442 kilograms, were recovered, and five suspects were arrested. Those nabbed include: Jacob Omodowo, 66; Joy Oluatobi Peace, 24;
While 500kg of the same substance was recovered from a Mercedes-Benz van marked MGU 614 XB by NDLEA officers on patrol along Mokwa-Jebba road in Niger state on 4th December, with the driver Amos Yakubu, 46, arrested, operatives in the FCT Abuja on Wednesday, 3rd December, intercepted a consignment of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, weighing 22kg at Abaji expressway.
A follow-up operation at the Jabi park in Abuja led to the arrest of a female receiver, Ali Blessing, 33. Also in the FCT, a suspect, Aliyu Usman, 39, was arrested by operatives on Friday, 5th December, with 24kg of skunk and 573,500 pills of Exol-5 along the Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway.
In Lagos operatives recovered 217 pouches of Canadian Loud weighing 113kg from a suspect Ezenwa Udoka at Ladipo market, Mushin, while Izuchukwu Usulor was nabbed with 351kg skunk at Onipanu area of the state on 5th December and Susan Okoro arrested with 104.1kg of same psychoactive substance at Trade Fair complex, Ojo, on Tuesday 2nd December.
A total of 447.5 kilograms of skunk was recovered from two Honda Accord cars marked ABC-678 KK and GGE-772 FB at Agho forest, Akoko Edo LGA, Edo State. A suspect Dada Adedara Babawibi, 56, was apprehended in connection with the seizure. A raid operation at a warehouse in the Isiefve community, Ohuwunde LGA, led to the seizure of 315.8kg of skunk and the arrest of a suspect, Stanley Obasuwa.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include: WADA sensitisation lectures for students and staff of St. Michael’s Academy, Sabon Gari, Kano; Harry Pass Secondary School, Masaje, Gboko LGA, Benue; and Community Junior Secondary School, Okuru-Ama, Obio/Akpor LGA, Rivers State, among others.
While commending the officers and men of SOU, Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, Kano, FCT, Niger and Edo Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.
A mob in Rappolemba, Indonesia, took law into its own hands by beating a man to de@th, hacking off his genitals, and dragging his body through the streets as punishment after accusing him of r@ping a disabled woman.
According to Mail Online, Ali, 47, was hunted by furious locals for allegedly r@ping and ass@ulting the woman in Gowa, Indonesia, on November 30.
The victim, identified only as T, was found battered and in a state of shock, sparking anger within the community.
Ali fled to a relative’s house before slipping into a nearby forest to escape the villagers’ wrath, according to local media. But he was caught on December 3, when he emerged from the woods to look for food.
Passersby immediately recognised the suspect and lynched him. The attack was caught on camera.
The vigilantes were said to have ‘chopped up’ his genitals before parading his limp body in the community.
Senior Adjunct Commissioner Muhammad Aldy Sulaeman, Gowa Police Chief, said police rushed to Rappolemba Village to control the mob.
He said: ‘We can confirm that several videos have circulated regarding an alleged assault against an individual.
Regarding this matter, we have coordinated with the Tompobulu Police. Based on the reports we received, the situation at the location is now under control.
‘We don’t want to underestimate the situation, and we are making checks and increasing security measures to keep the situation under control.
‘The initial information we received indicates that the person concerned was suspected of rape. However, we will continue to investigate this matter to determine the exact chronology of events.
‘The personnel involved include the Gowa Police’s medical team for the post-mortem examination, the Samapta Unit, the Criminal Investigation Unit, the Intelligence Unit, and the Community Policing Unit, accompanied by the local police chief. We have also coordinated with the South Sulawesi Regional Police Department.’
Locals claimed Ali had long been a menace, accusing him of being a repeat thief who had previously served prison time and was just recently released.