The Thai military is intensively bombing casino and hotel complexes near the Cambodian border as the border dispute escalates rapidly. The Thai military said the facilities had been used as bases by international online fraud rings and some were mobilized for crimes targeting Americans. Observers said the airstrikes erupted from a confluence of the transnational scam network that rattled Southeast Asia this year and the long-running border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
On the 14th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Thai military said it has attacked at least six casino and hotel complexes since last week using F-16 fighter jets, artillery and drones. The Thai military claimed the areas "were facilities operated by scam organizations and are now being used by the Cambodian military as drone and artillery bases." The Cambodian intelligence agency countered that "they are merely civilian facilities, with no military use."
As of the day, the clashes between the two countries had continued for a seventh day, and fighting did not stop despite President Trump announcing on the 12th that the two sides had agreed to return to a July cease-fire. Authorities in Thailand and Cambodia said at least 17 civilians have been killed so far and more than 500,000 people have fled.
The bombing targets in particular included the "Osmach Resort," which had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury Department last year imposed sanctions, saying the resort was run as a forced-labor site where trafficking victims were coerced into online scams. Li Yong Phat, the facility's owner and a Cambodian senator, did not issue a public statement after the sanctions were announced. The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time condemned the move as "politically motivated sanctions."
A United Nations-affiliated agency estimated that about 100,000 people were trafficked to Cambodia in 2023 and forced to work in scam operations, and human rights groups suggested the current number of victims may have risen to around 150,000. Many victims are from China and South Asia, and they were forced to carry out fake investment and romance scams targeting foreigners, including Americans, the groups noted.
Thailand's Interior Ministry said three people were killed and three were injured in airstrikes in the border town of Osmach. At the time, civilians such as tourists had already evacuated, and only security personnel remained, it said. A video released by Cambodian opposition politician Meach Sovannara showing people of Chinese and South Asian descent fleeing the facility immediately after the attack fueled further controversy.
Another complex attacked by the Thai military was a hotel-and-casino complex in Thmor Da in Pursat province, Cambodia. The U.S. government said in September that the complex was linked to cryptocurrency scams and tied to a Cambodian tycoon under U.S. sanctions.
The Thai military said it would continue operations under the banner of "eliminating border threats." The Cambodian government, by contrast, is escalating its response, calling Thailand's airstrikes a "clear violation of sovereignty." It is unusual for areas entrenched by scam organizations to become targets in a military clash between the two countries, and observers say the overlap of the border dispute with human trafficking and fraud issues could prolong instability in the region.