4:30 PM, December 24, 2025
Intervention by H.E. Pen Bona, Royal Government Spokesperson
As of December 24, 2025, it has been 18 days since the Thai military launched a brutal invasion against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia. The invading Thai military has indiscriminately bombarded civilian areas and infrastructures, causing numerous Cambodian civilians to suffer, and the number continues to rise, while civilian infrastructures are being destroyed every day. Today, Thai invading military continued to use fighter jets to drop cluster bombs and artillery shells deep into Cambodian territory, injuring several civilians.
Precisely, up to now, 21 Cambodian civilians (including 1 Infant) have been killed and 86 have been injured, including women, children, and the elderly. Meanwhile, the number of displaced civilians forced to flee their homes has increased to over 600,000. Many civil infrastructures such as houses, roads, bridges, schools, Hospitals, Markets, private business buildings, pagodas, and even ancient temples, which are invaluable cultural heritage of humanity, have been continuously damaged by the relentless bombardment of the invading Thai military.
Even though the Thai leadership has tried to deceive and distort the truth in order to manipulate the situation and to divert the attention of the International Community from their acts of aggression against Cambodian sovereign territory and their crimes against the Cambodian civilians, they cannot hide the truth from the eyes of the General Public. The perpetrators of the crimes committed against Cambodia today cannot evade responsibility.
The atrocity and conceited acts of aggression undertaken by the Thai leaders aim to dishearten the Cambodian’s spirit and divide the unity between our people and our leadership, so as to make the Khmer people lose trust and faith in the Royal Government of Cambodia. However, they are gravely mistaken. For the Khmer people, such brutal invasions by the Thai Military do not cause fear or demoralize them even a bit. On the contrary, the violation committed against Cambodian territorial integrity and the bombardment of innocent Cambodian civilians have instead bound the people, the government, and the armed forces to an even stronger tie to defend the motherland as well as to protect the honor and dignity of the Khmer nation.
The Spokesperson for the Royal Government of Cambodia condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric, ruthless, and inhumane attacks launched by the invading Thai military on the innocent Cambodian civilians and civilian infrastructures. We also appeal to the international community to pressure Thailand to immediately stop violating international laws and to compel this country to turn to resolve the issue through peaceful means.
The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to maintaining a firm and unwavering stance in protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity by exercising its right to self-defense in accordance with international law.
The Spokesperson for the Royal Government of Cambodia proudly praises the great unity of the Khmer people and express profound appreciation to the heroic courage of the Cambodian Armed Forces who have been fighting fiercely and persistently against the invading enemy, with firm faith in the Royal Government and particularly, in our leadership. This is the core forte of the Khmer nation to protect the territorial integrity against the invading troops.
