Cambodia - July 2025

Armed conflict broke out on the Cambodia-Thailand border on 24 July, killing at least 38 people (including at least 13 civilians), wounding over 200, and displacing at least 300,000 on both sides of the border. The deadly violence broke out after civilians and soldiers from both Cambodia and Thailand engaged in minor altercations and clashes over temples in a long-contested border region. These clashes strained diplomatic tensions as well, and violence continued until acting Thait Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to an unconditional ceasefire on 28 July. No ceasefire violations have been independently confirmed since. The violence is the worst between the two countries since 40 soldiers and civilians died in armed clashes over the same contested temples and borders between 2011 and 2013.

Update: The National Assembly unanimously amended the Law on 25 August to allow for the revocation of citizenship for collusion with foreign powers. Cambodian civil society groups criticized the law as overly vague and allowing the government to revoke citizenship for a broad range of critical speech. 

Sources: Associated Press, The Diplomat, The Guardian, Human Rights Watch, The Diplomat, Licadho Cambodia

Cambodia’s National Assembly voted unanimously to amend the constitution on 11 July to allow for the revocation of citizenship. The government will now draft a law stipulating the terms under which citizenship can be revoked. Officials said the new law will be used against Cambodians found guilty of ‘conspiring with foreign powers’ or treason, but those affected are likely to be government critics and opposition politicians. Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father and president of the Senate, Hun Sen, frequently equate criticism of their rule with treason and have used criminal prosecutions to harass and marginalize opponents of their rule in the past. While opposition politicians and critics who hold dual citizenship may be particularly vulnerable, there has been no indication the government intends to limit the law’s application only to dual citizens.

Sources: Associated Press, ConstitutionNet, Office of the Council of Ministers