Cambodian workers fled Thailand amid rising political tensions over a border conflict.

Crowds of labourers converged on a border checkpoint in Si Sa Ket in northeastern Thailand to return to their home country on June 16.

Footage shows the employees squeezing through the packed border gateway as soldiers checked their travel documents. Outside the terminal, motorists lugging their belongings waited in snaking lines for the gates to open.

The exodus came after Cambodian former Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen issued a message to his countrymen in Thailand.

In a Facebook post on June 14, he said: 'Please return to your homeland before the Thai authorities expel and insult you. I say this because I clearly understand that the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute will drag on for a long time, especially when Cambodia files a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at which time some Thai extremists and the Thai military will find things to harm you. This is a real thing that is happening and must happen.'

The influential politician, whose son Hun Manet now serves as Cambodian premier, said Cambodia was ready to absorb the influx of returning workers as the Labor and Economy ministries were preparing to help them find jobs.

Chhayrat Leang, a Cambodian who has worked in Thailand for more than a decade, said: ‘I received a phone call from my parents in Cambodia about the tense situation.

‘The country's leader called for Cambodians to leave Thailand, so my co-workers and I rented a car to take us to the checkpoint so we can return to our country.

‘If the situation calms down, I might return and work at the same place again.

Amid the border dispute, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said there was no directive for Thailand to deport Cambodian workers.

She said in a statement on Sunday: 'The Thai government has no policy to repatriate alien workers from any country from the kingdom. But if any country takes measures to call back workers with jobs having been created for them, they have the right and freedom to decide under the responsibility of their country.'

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified following a deadly clash between their troops in a disputed area of Ubon Ratchathani, on May 28.

The skirmish killed a Cambodian sergeant. Thailand said it was committed to resolving the dispute conflict through bilateral means, while Cambodia has vowed to bring the case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Thailand and Cambodia have a fractious history. The Khmer Empire once stretched across much of Southeast Asia before the ancient leaders moved their base south to Phnom Penh in the 16th century amid water shortages.

Thai tribes used it as a chance to encroach and claim much of the deserted land, including priceless sandstone temples and artefacts.

In the 1970s, Thailand supported the Khmer Rouge while they carried out one of the world's worst ever genocides. The country then provided sanctuary for the group's murderous leaders, even allegedly stealing aid funds that were intended to rebuild Cambodia.