Cambodia Says More Than 20,000 Border Residents Still Displaced

Cambodia Says More Than 20,000 Border Residents Still Displaced

PHNOM PENH, 20 July 2026 — More than 20,000 Cambodians remain displaced and unable to return to their homes despite the ceasefire along the Cambodia-Thailand border, the Ministry of Interior said in a press release issued on Monday.

The ministry said that between 6:00 a.m. on July 19 and 6:00 a.m. on July 20, more than 640,000 displaced people had been recorded in total since the outbreak of the border crisis. Of those, 20,281 people, including 10,331 women and 6,066 children, remained displaced because their villages and homes could not yet be safely reoccupied.

According to the ministry, the continuing situation has also disrupted public services. Eight schools and five hospitals or health centres in Oddar Meanchey Province remain closed, while five schools and one hospital or health centre remain closed in Banteay Meanchey Province. In Preah Vihear Province, seven schools and two hospitals or health centres have also suspended operations.

The ministry said damage has also been documented to numerous public and private properties in the affected areas.

In the statement, the ministry expressed appreciation to the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) for adopting a resolution on Cambodia’s territorial integrity during its plenary session in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

According to the ministry, the resolution calls for respect for Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, urges all parties to refrain from unilateral actions that could escalate tensions, supports respect for the ceasefire and implementation of the joint statement signed by the prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26, 2025, and calls for the immediate de-escalation of tensions and the withdrawal of armed forces from disputed areas.

The ministry noted that the resolution also supports resolving disputes through existing bilateral mechanisms, particularly the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), in accordance with international law and through dialogue.

The Interior Ministry also called on Cambodians at home and abroad to remain united in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s efforts to resolve the border issue peacefully through diplomatic mechanisms and international law, with the aim of restoring sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace and stability along the border and enabling affected communities on both sides to return to their normal livelihoods.