Cambodian workers returned home amid an intensifying border conflict with Thailand.

Footage shows frantic travellers dragging their suitcases as they rushed through the border checkpoint in Poipet, Cambodia, on June 14.

Opposite them were long queues of Thai nationals, many of them casino workers, also returning to their home country.

The mass exodus came after Cambodian Senate President Samdech Hun Sen had called on his countrymen to return to Cambodia 'before the Thai authorities could expel and insult them'.

However, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said there was no directive for Thailand to deport Cambodian workers.

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.