Bangkok: Cambodian Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Ly Thuch said the PMN-2 mines that injured Thai troops had been on Cambodian territory since previous wars, the Khmer Times newspaper reported.
Between July 16 and August 12, 2025, 13 Thai soldiers stepped on mines while patrolling the border, with four of them losing their legs below the knee or ankle. According to the Thai authorities, the incidents occurred before and after the armed border conflict between the two countries, which lasted from July 24 to 28.
Ly Thuch has called on Thailand to immediately stop Thai military from entering Cambodian territory littered with mines from past wars, warning that the mines still pose a deadly danger, the report said on Monday.
He also reportedly rejected what he called Thailand’s “baseless accusations” that Cambodia was laying new mines along the border. He stressed that Cambodia, as a state party to the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, fully complies with its obligations and does not lay new mines, the report added.
The decades-long border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia turned into an armed conflict on July 24, with the neighbors exchanging artillery fire and airstrikes. Both sides reported casualties, including among civilians. On August 4, they announced an immediate ceasefire, which was followed by a formal agreement on its implementation days later.
