Clashes at the Thai-Cambodian border lead to tragic deaths of five students, leaving Thailand in deep mourning.
In a troubling turn of events, severe clashes erupted along the disputed Thai-Cambodian border in late July 2025. The violence, which involved exchanges of gunfire, artillery, rockets, and Thai air strikes targeting Cambodian positions, has resulted in at least 38 deaths, injuries to dozens, and the displacement of over 300,000 civilians on both sides.
The Thai government has responded decisively, closing its border with Cambodia, evacuating its nationals from conflict zones, and declaring martial law in several border districts. Amidst this political turmoil, Thailand's Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, stepped down amid controversy linked to the crisis.
The clashes have also had international repercussions. ASEAN, under Malaysia's chairmanship, and the United Nations Security Council have urgently called for a ceasefire, holding emergency meetings to address the conflict. The U.S. President announced that both countries had agreed to pursue a ceasefire. Subsequent talks in Kuala Lumpur on July 28 led to a declared “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” although sporadic clashes reportedly continued afterward.
The Education Minister is deeply concerned about the situation and has been monitoring it closely. In response, the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) is implementing the guidance of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and preparing five flexible learning models to ensure continuity of education in the affected provinces.
Tomorrow, OBEC will dispatch teams of senior officials to visit all shelters and offer moral support, as well as distribute essentials. Meanwhile, exams in other unaffected provinces will proceed as scheduled. However, the clashes have disrupted teaching and learning activities in nine hundred fourteen schools across seven affected provinces, prompting OBEC to postpone the assistant teacher recruitment exam and other student examinations in these provinces.
Within a 30-kilometre radius of the conflict zone, all teachers, education personnel, students, and local residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters. Tragically, five Thai students have been killed in the clashes, and three others have been injured.
Certain details cannot be disclosed due to national security concerns. However, the Thai government is working diligently to restore peace and stability to the region, and international efforts are ongoing to support these efforts.
In a show of solidarity, the Education Minister is expected to attend the royal cremation ceremony scheduled for July 31, 2025. The ceremony will honour the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away in 2016, and is expected to be a significant event for the Thai people.
[1] The New York Times [2] BBC News [3] Al Jazeera [4] The Guardian [5] Reuters
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