KANTHARALAK, Thailand — Thailand’s government said a rocket attack from Cambodia on Sunday killed a 63-year-old villager, marking the first civilian death directly attributed to combat in the past week of renewed fighting along the Thai–Cambodian border.

Both countries confirmed that large-scale clashes continued on Sunday, triggered by a skirmish on December 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers.

The fighting centers on long-running territorial disputes over sections of the frontier, some of which contain centuries-old temple ruins.

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

Associated Press reporters reached the site of Sunday’s rocket impact in Kantharalak district, Sisaket province, within minutes of the strike.

They saw the body of a man, fully wrapped in bandages, being placed on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.

Nearby, a house was burning as village volunteers tried to extinguish the flames using buckets of water.

Shrapnel believed to be from the same rocket was embedded in the road.

The victim was identified by Thai authorities as Don Patchapan.

According to a Thai Army statement, he was killed in a residential area close to a school.

Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat condemned Cambodia for firing into civilian areas, describing the attack as “cruel and inhumane.”

Thailand had earlier reported civilian deaths during the conflict, but officials said those cases involved evacuees with underlying health conditions.

Cambodia has deployed truck-mounted BM-21 rocket launchers, which have a range of 30 to 40 kilometers and can fire up to 40 rockets at once, but lack precision targeting.

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

Thailand has responded with airstrikes using fighter jets, while Cambodia said bombing continued on Sunday. Both sides have also used drones for surveillance and attacks.

Residents of another village in Kantharalak district said several homes were damaged by a rocket attack on Saturday.

Kanbancha Charoensri, who was present during the strike, said multiple rockets landed nearby.

“Houses that were hit directly were totally destroyed,” he said.

“The ground was shaking so much. It was so scary.”

The Thai military said 16 of its troops have been killed in the fighting and estimated there have been at least 221 Cambodian military fatalities.

Cambodia rejected that figure as disinformation and has not acknowledged military losses, though it said at least 11 civilians have been killed and more than 60 wounded.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet sought to bolster morale on Sunday, writing on social media that he was proud of the country’s resilience “in this situation where our country is facing difficulties due to aggression from neighboring countries.”

The renewed fighting has undermined a ceasefire promoted earlier this year by U.S. President Donald Trump, which had ended five days of clashes in July. That truce was brokered by Malaysia and formalized in October.

Trump said on Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed at his urging to revive the ceasefire, but Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul denied making such a commitment, while Cambodia said it was continuing to fight in self-defense.

The conflict expanded on Saturday when a Thai Navy warship in the Gulf of Thailand exchanged fire with Cambodian positions in Koh Kong province.

Both sides accused each other of opening fire first. — Agencies