Cambodia evacuates a village on disputed border with Thailand as tensions rise

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Thursday evacuated hundreds of people from a village along its disputed border with Thailand, a day after one of its residents was reported killed when shooting between the two nations broke out there.

Wednesday’s shooting occurred two days after a Thai soldier lost a foot to a land mine while patrolling another area of the border. Thailand blamed Cambodia for the blast and announced it was suspending honoring the terms of a ceasefire partly brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Territorial disputes over exactly where the border lies between the Southeast Asian neighbors led to five days of armed conflict in late July that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. But tensions remained high. Many terms of a more detailed truce agreement signed last month have not yet been implemented.

A Cambodian man identified as Dy Nai was reportedly killed in shooting Wednesday, while three other people were wounded.

About 250 families from Prey Chan village in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey, where the shooting took place, were evacuated to a Buddhist temple about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border, said Ly Sovannarith, the provincial vice governor.

The same village was the site of a violent but not lethal confrontation in September between Thai security personnel and Cambodian villagers.

The Cambodian Defense Ministry on Thursday led members of a team assigned to monitor the ceasefire at the border. The observer team included officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the incident to bring justice to those affected by the shooting.

The ceasefire appeared to be breaking down after the land mine explosion earlier this week. Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the truce, which Cambodia denied. Thailand said it would pause implementation of the agreement indefinitely. It also demanded that Cambodia apologize, conduct a thorough investigation and implement prevent such incidents in the future.

Hun Manet said the shooting occurred after Thai forces engaged in "numerous provocative actions for many days with the objective of instigating confrontations.” He added that Cambodia would still honor the ceasefire terms.

The Thai army alleged that Cambodian soldiers fired into a district in Thailand’s eastern province of Sa Kaeo, and that the Thai side “fired warning shots in response.”

“Cambodia’s accusations that Thailand initiated fire, provoked conflict, and violated the ceasefire are entirely false. Cambodia’s firing from a civilian area as cover constitutes using human shields, violating humanitarian principles and demonstrating complete disregard for Cambodian civilian lives.” army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree said in a statement Wednesday.

Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity going back centuries, when they were warring empires. Their competing territorial claims stem largely from a 1907 map drawn when Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand has argued is inaccurate.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 awarded sovereignty to Cambodia over an area that included the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which still rankles many Thais.

The October truce agreement does not spell out a path to resolve the underlying basis of the dispute.

Jintamas Saksornchai reported from Bangkok

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), a man on a medical emergency stretcher is carried into an ambulance on the way to the main hospital after he was injured in Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, a border town to Thailand, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 (AKP via AP)

This photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) shows an injured man on a medical emergency stretcher as he was being transported to the main hospital, in Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, a border area to Thailand, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), an injured man, rear center, is visited by members of the ASEAN's observer team (AOT) in a hospital in Prey Chan, a border village to Thailand, in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian Buddhist monks surround a coffin with the body of Dy Nay, killed during a clash with Thai soldiers in Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, on the border with Thailand, at Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), local residents carry a coffin with the body of Dy Nay body caused by Thai soldiers opened fire on civilians in Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, on the border with Thailand, at Prey Chan village, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 (AKP via AP)

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of the Hajj.

Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and surrounding plain for intense prayers and worship that often mark a spiritual peak for them. They fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplications. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health.

The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it.

For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade.

A Saudi official said on Friday that more than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in the country from abroad.

This year, Muslims have been pouring into Saudi Arabia for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related uncertainty in the region.

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats used to lay mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely." Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war.

For many, performing the Hajj can be a realization of a lifelong dream as they spend years hoping and praying to one day be able to undertake the pilgrimage or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.

“This happens once in a lifetime,” Mohammad Asal, an Egyptian pilgrim, said. “People here have prepared their prayers, hoping that God will respond to them, because we know that ... the most important ritual of the Hajj is being in Arafat.”

The Hajj brings together large numbers of Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and socioeconomic classes, creating a sense of unity for many. It’s a mass, communal experience, with Muslims performing rituals together. But it is also deeply personal, as every pilgrim brings their own yearnings and experiences.

“It was incredible,” Ahmed Sufyan, a pilgrim from the United States, said on Tuesday. “The unity and peace that we feel is something I’ve never experienced before,” he added via WhatsApp.

“Our wishes are many,” Mohammad Obaid, a Sudanese pilgrim, said, adding he was praying for Sudan and Muslims everywhere.

Fam reported from Winter Park, Florida.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A Muslim pilgrim pray atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims walk towards the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims are silhouetted as they pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims read a copy of Islam's holy book Quran atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)