Over 20,000 Cambodians Displaced After Clash With Thailand

Kathmandu. More than 20,000 Cambodians are still displaced on the border with Thailand after last year's clashes, a United Nations expert said on Friday. He urged both sides to resolve this crisis. The long-running border dispute turned into fighting in July and December, in which dozens of people were killed. They had signed a ceasefire agreement in December, but they have been repeatedly accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. "Displaced persons in such conflicts have the right to return home, and this is clear in international law," said Tom Andrews, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia, in an interview with AFP. In a statement issued after visiting the border, Andrews said that 650,000 Cambodian citizens were displaced by the end of 2025, and still 20,000 were displaced. He said that some cities and villages are currently occupied by Thai soldiers, and barbed wire and barriers are preventing people from returning home. "I saw houses with bomb and bullet holes amidst the rubble," he said, "this crisis must be resolved as soon as possible because it involves human suffering." Bangkok claims that it has only taken back Thai land occupied by Cambodians. Scams continue Andrews completed his first official visit to Cambodia on Friday, where he also expressed concern about victims trafficked to work in scam centers and widespread restrictions on political rights. Cambodia has become a hub for criminal groups operating scam centers and cryptocurrency investment schemes, in which scammers defraud internet users worldwide. Andrews said that more than 600 scam centers have been raided and thousands of people arrested. But "scams continue, spreading from cities to rural areas." The fate of people trafficked to work in scam centers remains unclear, he said in a telephone interview. He said he had heard reports of thousands of people left on the streets without money or passports, but officials assured him that a "screening process" was underway to separate victims and perpetrators, although there are "capacity issues." Andrews said he had pressured Cambodian leaders to ensure that all individuals involved in scam centers, including high-ranking officials, face justice. "I emphasized the importance of accountability for everyone, not just the lower ranks, but also the upper ranks," he said.