CaliToday (17/12/2025): The conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has exploded into full-scale warfare. Following reports of a potential naval blockade, Thai forces have launched a devastating series of coordinated strikes, reducing key economic and military infrastructure to rubble.
In a fiery response that has placed the entire nation on a war footing, Cambodian leader Hun Sen has issued a general mobilization order, effectively closing the country's borders to its own fleeing citizens and demanding a fight to the death to expel Thai forces.
The Thai Onslaught: "Scorched Earth"
Over the past 24 hours, the Royal Thai Army has executed one of the most destructive operations in recent history along the shared border. Military sources confirm that Thai artillery and airstrikes have successfully targeted and destroyed:
4 Autonomous Zones: Special economic areas previously under Cambodian administration have been leveled.
8 Casinos: Key gambling resorts vital sources of revenue for the Cambodian elite have been reduced to ruins.
1 Major Military Depot: A strategic ammunition and logistics hub was hit by a precision strike, reportedly causing secondary explosions that lasted for hours.
The strikes appear designed to simultaneously cripple Cambodia’s border economy and sever its military supply chain.
Hun Sen’s Decree: "Stand and Fight"
Facing a crumbling frontline, Senate President and long-time strongman Hun Sen took to the national airwaves to declare the highest level of national alarm.
Abandoning diplomatic language, Hun Sen framed the conflict as an existential struggle for Cambodia’s survival.
"The enemy is at our gates, burning our homes and stealing our land," Hun Sen declared in a televised address. "I call upon every Cambodian child to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces. We must be of one mind and one heart. We will fight until the last aggressor is expelled from our sacred territory."
The "No Exit" Order: General Mobilization
In a draconian move that signals the desperation of the situation, the Cambodian government has issued Directive 18-37, a general mobilization order with immediate effect:
Mass Conscription: All able-bodied citizens between the ages of 18 and 37 are immediately drafted into service to support the war effort, either on the frontlines or in logistics.
Border Closure: Hun Sen has strictly prohibited all Cambodian citizens from fleeing the country. Border crossings seeking asylum or refugee status are now illegal.
Security forces have been ordered to detain anyone attempting to "abandon the motherland" during this crisis.
A Region on the Brink
The situation has deteriorated rapidly from a border skirmish to a total war scenario. With Thailand effectively blockading the sea and destroying economic hubs on land, and Cambodia responding with a "human wave" mobilization and a ban on refugees, the humanitarian window is closing fast.
International observers warn that Hun Sen’s order to prevent civilians from fleeing transforms the conflict zone into a pressure cooker, trapping millions between advancing Thai firepower and their own government's "stand and fight" decree.