Three months after a ceasefire ended intense border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple sits scarred and unstable on a 525-metre cliff in the Dangrek range. Once admired for its weathered Khmer carvings and wide views over the Cambodian plains, the UNESCO-listed site now shows stone debris, artillery craters and scorched vegetation where tourists once wandered.
The temple, built by the same Khmer Empire that created Angkor Wat and declared a World Heritage site in 2008, has long been a flashpoint in a decades-long boundary dispute. After two rounds of heavy fighting last year, Cambodian authorities say much of the complex is damaged and some structures may be at risk of collapse. Conservation staff and troops remain at the site protecting what they can, while Thai soldiers are visible just across the nearby border.
Preah Vihear is closed to visitors because of unstable walls and the danger of unexploded ordnance. Areas are roped off and marked with signs warning of landmines, reminders of the region’s painful history of conflict. Archaeologist Hem Sinath, deputy director-general of the National Authority for Preah Vihear, described the scene as quiet and sorrowful, and warned that weakened sections could fail during the rainy season.
A damage assessment released by Cambodia’s Culture Ministry in January said all five of the temple’s notable gateway pavilions were struck, with three nearly unrecognizable. A northern staircase restored under a previous US-funded project suffered severe damage from repeated bombardment. The ministry reported damage at 142 locations during July clashes and at 420 sites during heavier fighting in December. There has been no independent international survey of the destruction.
Cambodian officials accuse Thai forces of deliberately attacking the heritage site. Information Minister Neth Pheaktra condemned the strikes and said Preah Vihear belongs to all humankind, not to be treated as an enemy. International law protects historic sites, but Thailand has argued that Cambodia militarised the temple, installing weapons, storing ammunition and using it for surveillance, which it says removed wartime protections. Thai authorities also said a tall construction crane at the complex was part of a command-and-control system and was lawfully targeted; a Thai army spokesperson maintained that strikes were directed only at military objectives. Cambodia’s Culture Ministry rejects the militarisation charges and insists any security personnel were present solely to protect the monument.
Both countries blame each other for starting the July and December clashes. Cambodia says more than 640,000 people were displaced from border areas during the fighting and that nearly 37,000 have not yet returned home.
Known in Thailand as Phra Viharn, the temple has been disputed since the 1950s. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple and a small surrounding area belong to Cambodia, a decision the court reaffirmed in 2013. For years visitors arrived from both sides, with many foreign tourists accessing the site via Thailand until the border closures that followed renewed tensions. UNESCO’s designation in 2008 heightened nationalist sentiment in Thailand, contributing to earlier bouts of violence in 2008 and 2011.
Repairing the complex will be difficult. Hem Sinath and other Cambodian officials say urgent stabilisation work is needed before the rainy season, which normally begins in late May or early June, but safety concerns, unexploded ordnance and the fragile ceasefire have put restoration plans on hold. International partners, including India, China and the United States, have participated in past conservation efforts, but funding and practical work are stalled until security improves. Officials say they have plans to begin repairs as soon as conditions along the border allow.
