The ceasefire signed on 27 December 2025 between Thailand and Cambodia has brought a welcome pause after weeks of intense fighting along their disputed border.
The agreement follows months of renewed tensions that flared again in early December, collapsing a fragile truce reached last August and forcing civilians to flee amid artillery fire and air strikes.
For communities living in the affected provinces, displacement is not new.
Caritas Cambodia and its partners have been responding for months as insecurity ebbed and flowed along the frontier, disrupting livelihoods and access to basic services. The latest escalation, however, has pushed the situation well beyond previous levels.
According to government figures and humanitarian coordination reports, nearly 440,000 people have been displaced nationwide, with more than 315,000 sheltering in almost 200 government-established evacuation sites, while tens of thousands more are staying with host families.
Many of these camps are severely overcrowded. Families are living in shared spaces with little privacy and limited access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
Conditions have been further aggravated by the monsoon season, increasing exposure to the elements and heightening the risk of disease outbreaks.
Food insecurity is growing, children’s education has been disrupted, and the psychological toll of repeated displacement is increasingly visible across affected communities.
On 16 December, Caritas Cambodia distributed 27 tonnes of rice to over 1,100 displaced families staying in safety centres in Bavel District, Battambang Province, in south-western Cambodia, approximately 350 kilometres from the capital, Phnom Penh.
The relief operation was carried out in close cooperation with local authorities.
Addressing the displaced families, Msgr Enrique Figaredo, Chairman of Caritas Cambodia and Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, encouraged them not to lose hope.
“Please do not feel alone or lose hope. We will stand with you at all times.”
Msgr Enrique Figaredo
In this challenging context, Caritas Cambodia, supported by the wider Caritas confederation, has continued to deliver life-saving assistance. On 23 December, it launched a new emergency appeal to scale up its response and reach those most at risk.
The appeal targets 5,000 displaced families across 20 priority evacuation camps, focusing on food assistance, emergency shelter kits including blankets and mosquito nets, and solar lights to improve safety at night.
Water stations and hygiene kits are also among Caritas’ key priorities to help prevent the spread of disease.
At the same time, temporary classrooms, child-friendly spaces and learning materials aim to restore a sense of normality for children uprooted by violence. Psychosocial support and child-protection activities remain central to the response, recognising the trauma caused by months of instability.
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