Cambodia vows fierce fight against Thailand in their escalating border conflict

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen vowed a fierce fight against Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the nations Tuesday drove tens of thousands of people to flee border areas.

The fighting following a skirmish Sunday that injured two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump that ended fighting over territorial disputes in July. The five days of fighting then left dozens dead on both sides, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians.

In a sign that neither side was willing to back down, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday that Cambodia had not yet contacted Thailand about possible negotiations and the fighting would continue.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “The government will support all kinds of military operations as planned earlier.” He said Monday that military action was necessary to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and ensure public safety.

In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from retaliating Monday, but overnight began to fire back at Thai forces.

“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was prime minister until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.

Thailand’s military said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery and rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. Thailand said that Cambodian forces also fired at its troops Sunday and Monday, but each side blames the other for shooting first.

Cambodia’s military announced Tuesday that the new fighting had killed seven civilians and wounded 20. A Thai military spokesperson said that three soldiers have been killed.

Thailand on Monday carried out airstrikes along the frontier, which it called a defensive action targeting military installations. Thai military spokesperson Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Tuesday that such operations would continue “until attacks stop.”

An evacuation shelter at a university in Thailand's northeastern city of Surin hosted more than 3,600 people who were relocated from the danger zones. They sat or laid on thin mats and several set up small tents. At lunchtime, some lined up to receive cooked rice, while others were served ready-to-eat meals. An army band played for their entertainment.

“We were preparing to evacuate. We hadn’t left yet. But when we heard shots we hurried out immediately," cassava farmer Pan-ngam Kanchangthong told The Associated Press. "I was scared. Who wouldn’t be scared of shelling?”

The Thai army said almost 500 temporary shelters were set up in four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people.

Evacuees on the Cambodian side had similar experiences.

“I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the shelling. At that time, I was working at the garment factory," said 44-year-old Vach Neang, a father of seven.

“I called my wife and my kids but couldn't reach them, and by that time the sound of explosions was getting louder, so the factory owner let us go home," he said, speaking at a former market in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey that has been repurposed as a shelter. He added that he packed just a few clothes before fleeing.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said almost 55,000 people have been evacuated and the numbers were mounting.

Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity over centuries and experience periodic tensions along their land border of more than 800 kilometers (500 miles). Centuries ago both were powerful empires, but Thailand's size and greater development over the past century give it the military advantage.

Some of the disputed territory hosts ancient temples that both nations covet as part of their heritage. Cambodia's Culture Ministry charged that Thai forces on Tuesday had damaged one, Ta Krabey temple, calling the alleged action “a reprehensible act (reflecting) profound immorality.”

Thailand's military, referring to the same 11th-century temple by its Thai name, alleged that Cambodian forces launched rocket attacks into the northeastern province of Surin. Independent corroboration of either claim was impossible.

The ceasefire that ended July’s fighting was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed to it.

Late Tuesday at a Pennsylvania political event, Trump said he would use his sway to end the renewed combat.

“Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call,” Trump said. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’”

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on both sides to live up to the commitments they made in Kuala Lumpur, calling for removing heavy weapons from the border, coordinating removal of land mines and other steps.

None of these actions appears to have been implemented as both nations continued a bitter propaganda war and incidents of cross-border violence continued.

A major Cambodian complaint has been that Thailand continues to hold 18 prisoners who were taken the same day the ceasefire went into effect. Thailand claims they approached its positions in a threatening manner, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.

Thailand accuses Cambodia of laying new land mines in the areas under dispute, in several cases maiming Thai soldiers. Cambodia says the mines are left over from decades of civil war that ended in 1999.

The mines issue caused Thailand to declare earlier this month that it was indefinitely pausing implementation of the details of the ceasefire until Cambodia apologized for wounding Thai soldiers.

This version has corrected that two soldiers were injured in Sunday's skirmish, not that one died, and has corrected that Trump's latest comment was at a Pennsylvania rally, not in Washington.

Sopheng Cheang reported from Mongkol Borey, Cambodia. Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Village security volunteers eat dinner outside a shelter during Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashes in Surin province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Village security volunteers sit inside shelter during Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashes in Surin province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

People cook breakfast as they take refuge in Srey Snam, Siem Reap province, Cambodia Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, after fleeing from home following a fighting between Cambodia and Thailand over territorial claims. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

People take off fish from net for their meal as they take refuge in Srey Snam, Siem Reap province, Cambodia Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, after fleeing from home following a fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over territorial claims. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A house is seen damaged by Cambodian artillery fire in Sisaket province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Local people transported by tractors and motorcycles flee from their home in northwestern provinces of Cambodia's border with Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Children take refuge in Srey Snam, Siem Reap province after fleeing with their families from their homes at Cambodia's border with Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thai people, who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, takes shelter in Buriram province, Thailand. Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A Thai Buddhist monk uses his computer while taking shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, after he fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Thai residents, who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, takes shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian villagers sit on tractors as they flee from the home in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AKP via AP)

A Thai resident who fled clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, uses mobile phone while taking shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A huge game awaits the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

It'll happen in Houston, even though the Timberwolves will be in Los Angeles. There will be no dunks, no traveling, no 3-pointers. No halftime, either. No shot clock, but there will be a pitch clock.

And there will be fouls. Well, foul balls.

These are fun times for the Timberwolves. They're in the thick of an airtight Western Conference playoff race, but they're getting a neat and probably unexpected diversion — the World Baseball Classic. Minnesota assistant coach Micah Nori's son is Dante Nori, and he's been a breakout player for Italy in that tournament. Italy plays the U.S. on Tuesday night, a game that starts a couple of hours before the Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I will be watching the Timberwolves,” Micah Nori said. “But at 6 o'clock Pacific time, I will be focused on the Italians and the Americans in the WBC, for sure.”

Make no mistake, the Timberwolves are focused on the stretch run and trying to lock up the best possible playoff seed. But that doesn't mean head coach Chris Finch, co-owner Alex Rodriguez — the slugger who knows a thing or two about baseball — and others within the organization can't stop and cheer for one of their own, even if it does mean paying attention to a different sport.

“My family is obviously locked in on it, but so is our organization," Micah Nori said. “It sounds crazy, but so many guys are locked in. Our head coach is a big fan, and I can't tell you how many people send videos or pictures of them watching Dante's game. It means a lot. It is a welcome distraction, if you will, one that has you just get away from the grind a little bit.”

Dante Nori is 5 for 7 through his first two games of the tournament, with a two-homer game in Italy's win over Brazil on Saturday.

His father says that by the time Dante was 4, he figured his future was in baseball. As the story goes, Dante would try to play on his toy basket and Micah would swat his shot away and put the baseball bat in his hands instead.

Dante says the baseball-over-basketball realization actually happened around the time he was in middle school and realized he wasn't going to get past 5-foot-9.

“It was a very easy choice,” Dante Nori said. “Just keep the cleats on and play baseball.”

Having Dante wear Italia across his chest for this tournament is a big deal to the family. But it's not exactly a stretch that Micah Nori — someone who could easily be an NBA head coach one day — has a kid who excels in baseball.

And really, baseball has basically been the family sport.

Fred Nori, Micah Nori's father, played three years of college baseball at Indiana before spending a few seasons in pro ball. Micah Nori also played baseball at Indiana, batting a team-best .365 as a senior. Butch Carter got him into basketball as an advance scout with the Toronto Raptors, but he wound up leaving that role to return to the Hoosiers as a coach. Micah Nori returned to the NBA four years later and has been in the league ever since.

“Being around all these great NBA players your whole life, it helps you out listening to them, seeing their work ethic, seeing what they had to do to get there," Dante Nori said. "And then the standpoint of getting to rep that name — Italia — across your chest, you’re playing for your ancestors, you're playing for your family, especially my grandpa Fred. Him getting to watch is really special. All of that, it’s just all coming together. It's sweet.”

It's not lost on the Nori family that one of the guys running the Wolves right now was a 14-time All-Star, three-time MVP, a World Series champion and someone who hit 696 home runs in his career.

Yes, A-Rod is a fine guy for Dante Nori to have in his corner. It's just another illustration of how, for the Timberwolves and the Nori family, the worlds of baseball and basketball are meshing perfectly together right now.

“Alex has been great the few times that Dante and he have crossed paths when Dante was in Minnesota, even when he was in high school," Micah Nori said. “Alex is always taking time to give Dante some advice. And I think that’s been huge. Just the fact that Dante has been fortunate enough to grow up in professional locker rooms, he realizes that they're just people but he sees the work ethic. And that's why I think he gets to the WBC and just focuses on playing his game. He's not distracted or overwhelmed by it all."

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Italy's Dante Nori, right, celebrates after hitting a home run against Brazil during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kehden Hettiger, right, and Dante Nori celebrate after Hettiger's two-run home run during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Clearwater. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Italy's Dante Nori, right, celebrates after hitting a home run against Brazil during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)