Thousands march for peace in Phnom Penh, calling for end to border conflict with Thailand

Tens of thousands of Cambodians took part in a massive rally on Thursday in the country's capital, Phnom Penh, marching through the streets to call for peace as the recent round of fighting with neighboring Thailand dragged into its 12th day.

The participants, waving the Cambodian national flag and holding banners, walked for about 40 minutes to the city's Independence Monument Park, in the third "March for Peace" demonstration so far this year after two similar events held in August and June.

Organized by the Union of Youth Federations, the event called for an end to the ongoing border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, which erupted on Dec 7 and has so far caused scores of deaths on both sides. It also aimed to highlight Cambodia's commitment to peace and its adherence to the ceasefire agreement signed with Thailand on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia in October.

Since the long-running border dispute erupted into violence again, more than 450,000 Cambodian civilians have been displaced, according to the country's interior ministry.

"Our people living along the border are feeling afraid and anxious, and everyone cannot work as they have to flee the areas they used to live in. I would like to ask the international community to look at it in order to find justice for Cambodia. Cambodia needs peace. Cambodia only need prosperity as we previously had. We don't want war. So, the one who is invading Cambodia, please stop from now on," said Nhap Tevy, a local of Phnom Penh who took part in Thursday's march.

"I take part in this event to support our country so that we don't have conflict anymore. We don't want the conflict. We want safety for our people, as the conflict causes some of our people to die. In our village, we have also gathered some donations to help our displaced people and soldiers," said Prak San, another participant from Cambodia's Kandal province.

The border tensions, which originate from a long-standing territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, first turned violent in July this year.

A peace agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in late October aimed to stop the fighting. It included plans to remove heavy weapons and clear landmines.

However, the deal has mostly fallen apart, with both Cambodia and Thailand accusing each other of breaking the rules. Heavy fighting has continued in several border areas, despite international mediation efforts.

Thousands march for peace in Phnom Penh, calling for end to border conflict with Thailand

Thousands march for peace in Phnom Penh, calling for end to border conflict with Thailand

Economic and political stakes are rising as tensions persist along the Thai-Cambodian border, just as the crucial high season for tourism begins.

In Thailand's Trat Province, a gateway to several popular resort islands, curfews, tighter airport screening and foreign travel warnings are triggering a wave of hotel cancellations, raising fears of prolonged damage to the local tourism industry.

Though Trat is not a frontline in the conflict, it is a border province, and with clashes continuing between Thailand and Cambodia in the nearby mountains, perception alone is proving as damaging to tourism as the fighting itself.

"We're concerned that it's starting to affect the islands as a whole, which are popular tourist destinations for both Thai and foreign tourists during this time. We're starting to get information that there is an average cancellation rate of around 40 percent," said Attapol Arunwuttipong, Secretary of the Trat Chamber of Commerce.

Hotel operators in this province say that cancellations began almost immediately after clashes flared along the border and the impact ripples outward fast. Tourist cancellations led directly to lost jobs for guides, drivers, and chefs, draining the local economy at the start of the peak travel season.

Konticha Sunate, owner of Banpu Resort, said she has lost nearly half her bookings in a matter of days. Around 50 percent of her rooms have been canceled, many by guests who were due to arrive this week. For small operators like her, the timing could not be worse.

"There's a lack of confidence. And there's a lot of uncertainty. We don't know long the fighting with Cambodia will last. That makes customers feel scared and unsure, especially at this time. I think this is the main reason why customers are canceling and not booking. So, I think recovery will be quite difficult and long," she said.

Local officials insist tourist areas remain safe, far from any military engagement, but reassurance struggles to compete with headlines of jets, artillery, and sporadic sounds of explosions.

However, not all vacationers have been deterred. Mariana Kuiken and her husband recently arrived from Belgium, deciding to stick with their plans despite the warnings.

"If we were staying close within Trat, I think I would be a little bit concerned of hearing these noises. But since we're going to be on the islands, I don't really expect to hear that. If I hear it, then yeah, I think it will be a little feel a bit different. But yeah, for now, I have confidence that it will not further escalate," said Kuiken.

Border tensions drain tourists from Thailand's Trat Province