THAILAND’S government said today that a rocket attack fired from Cambodia killed a 63-year-old villager in the first reported civilian death caused by combat during the past week of fighting along the border.

Both governments confirmed that large-scale clashes were continuing, following a skirmish on December 7 in which two Thai soldiers were wounded.

The violence centres on longstanding competing claims to sections of frontier land, some of which contain centuries-old temple ruins.

More than two dozen people on both sides have officially been reported killed in the past week, while over half a million residents have been displaced.

In the Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, villagers said that around 10 minutes after the rocket strike, a house several hundred metres away was engulfed in flames, with local volunteers attempting to extinguish the fire using buckets of water.

A fragment of shrapnel believed to be from the same rocket was found embedded in a nearby road.

The victim, identified by the Thai army as Don Patchapan, was killed in the middle of a residential area close to a school.

Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat accused Cambodia of deliberately targeting civilian areas, calling the attack “cruel and inhumane.”

Cambodia has deployed truck-mounted BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, which have a range of up to 40 kilometres and can fire as many as 40 rockets at a time, but lack precision.

Thai authorities said thousands of rockets have been launched almost daily, though many have landed in areas that were already evacuated.

Thailand has responded with air strikes using fighter jets, while Cambodia said the bombing continued today.

Both sides have also used drones for surveillance and to deliver explosives.

The Thai military said 15 of its troops have been killed and estimated that at least 221 Cambodian soldiers had died.

Cambodia dismissed the figure as disinformation and has not confirmed any military losses, but said at least 11 civilians had been killed and more than 60 wounded.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet sought to rally support on Sunday, saying he was proud of the country’s strength in the face of what he described as aggression.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that both sides had agreed at his urging to revive a ceasefire plan, but Thailand denied committing to it, and Cambodia said it would continue fighting in self-defence.