Thai Forces Secure 3 Sa Kaeo Villages, 18,000 Evacuees Brace for Cease-Fire

For residents of Thailand’s eastern provinces, the guns may have fallen silent for the moment, but uncertainty still hangs thick along the Sa Kaeo frontier. After nearly three weeks of cross-border shelling, Thai soldiers report they have pushed Cambodian forces out of three key villages, reclaimed control of the high ground, and are now digging in while diplomats race to lock down a fragile cease-fire.

Snapshot of a Shifting Battlefield

• Three villages – Ban Khlong Phaeng, Ban Nong Ya Kaew and Ban Nong Chan – are now in Thai hands after an all-out counter-assault led by the 1st Army’s Burapha Force.

• More than 17 K evacuees remain in makeshift shelters across four Sa Kaeo districts.

• BM-21 rocket salvos from Cambodian territory have struck temples, schools and farms since early December, prompting Bangkok to brand the attacks “indiscriminate.”

• A joint cease-fire agreement signed in Chanthaburi orders both sides to halt fire from noon on 27 December, though field commanders say they will stay on alert.

Front-Line Reclamation: How the Thai Counter-Strike Unfolded

Thai field officers tell a story of night-time maneuvers, precision artillery and close-quarters infantry sweeps that finally broke a stalemate around อำเภอโคกสูง and อำเภอตาพระยา. According to the operations log reviewed by our newsroom:

– Artillery observers flagged the BM-21 launch sites at first light on 26 December, triggering coordinated counter-battery fire.– Armoured platoons then advanced under drone surveillance, seizing high-ridge positions overlooking Ban Nong Chan by mid-afternoon.– Engineers hurried in to clear suspected anti-personnel mines, a deadly legacy of earlier skirmishes that had already maimed Thai troops ten times this month.

By dusk, radio chatter confirmed the Cambodian units had pulled back across the shallow creek marking the de-facto boundary. “We now hold the entire sector,” a 1st Army spokesperson said, adding that defensive berms and mortar pits were being fortified to deter any overnight return.

Human Cost: Displacement and Daily Life in Limbo

While soldiers reorganise, villagers from ตาพระยา, โคกสูง, อรัญประเทศ and คลองหาด face a different battle: endurance. Local administrators list 40 temporary shelters scattered through school gyms, temples and community halls. The latest head-count, verified by the Social Development Ministry, shows:

– 17,913 residents still displaced, including 1,431 elderly people and 614 children under seven.– Mobile medical teams from the Thai Red Cross conducting wound care and stress-relief workshops.– A rotating supply of royal kitchen trucks delivering hot meals, rice and drinking water twice a day.

Farmers worry the conflict has already cost them the entire cassava harvest; December is normally peak digging season in Sa Kaeo’s sandy fields. “Even if we go home tomorrow, the roots are ruined,” said one evacuee from Ban Nong Ya Kaew clutching a voucher for compensation she hopes will come before planting season in March.

Legal and Diplomatic Ripples

Bangkok’s Foreign Ministry insists the Cambodian rocket fire violates international humanitarian law, citing the indiscriminate nature of BM-21 launchers. Thai officials have shared blast-radius maps with ASEAN partners and requested an observer mission should hostilities flare up again.

Regional analysts point to two immediate flashpoints:

Mine warfare allegations – A Thai sapper lost both legs on 27 December, the tenth such incident this month, prompting a fresh protest note to Phnom Penh.

Civilian shielding claims – Drone imagery released by the 2nd Army purports to show Cambodian troops lodging inside a school compound before retreating.

No major international rights organisation has yet issued a formal report, but legal scholars warn that continued use of “area weapons” near populated zones could trigger wider condemnation and possibly impact Cambodia’s pending trade talks with the EU.

Cease-Fire Clock: Reasons for Cautious Optimism – and Doubt

At noon on 27 December, field radios crackled with the order every Thai soldier had waited for: “หยุดยิง” – cease fire. By sunset, no fresh rockets had landed, and traffic returned to a trickle at the Aranyaprathet market gate.

Yet trust remains brittle. Thai commanders plan to keep recon drones circling and have authorised ranger patrols to shadow the frontier overnight. Senior diplomats meanwhile emphasise three benchmarks for lasting calm:

– Verified withdrawal of heavy artillery at least 10 km behind the de-marcation line.– A joint de-mining task force empowered to clear fields before the next planting cycle.– A civilian hotline so village leaders can flag violations in real time.

If those steps hold, buses could start returning evacuees within days. If not, the shelters will remain Sa Kaeo’s unwanted New Year landmarks.

What Thai Readers Should Watch Next

Whether the cease-fire survives the first week – past truces have collapsed within 48 hours.

Parliamentary debate on additional defence funding, slated for early January.

Possible ASEAN emergency session, which diplomats hint could convene if shelling resumes.

For now, families displaced by the December barrages can only wait – and hope the line of sandbags marking Thailand’s eastern edge stays quiet long enough for them to go home and salvage what little remains of this year’s crops.