Thai villages were left deserted as residents fled their homes amid an escalating border conflict with Cambodia.

Footage shows shops and roads eerily devoid of people as locals were evacuated from Surin, Thailand, on July 25.

Other residents sheltered in bunkers and refused to leave their hometown, saying they were worried about their livestock and farmland.

The escalating military confrontation - the bloodiest in more than a decade - flared in long-disputed border areas as Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of instigating the violence on July 24.

The Thai army claimed the clash began when six armed Cambodian soldiers approached a Thai outpost after a drone was heard near a disputed Khmer temple. Thai troops said they shouted warnings and claimed the Cambodians opened fire first.

However, Cambodia's Defense Ministry accused Thailand of provoking the violence, saying its forces acted in self-defense.

Officials said today at least 35 people have been killed and more than 218,000 displaced on both sides of the border.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday evening threatened to pause trade deals with both countries as he urged the two countries to end the fighting.

He said: 'I spoke to both of the prime ministers, and I think by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now.'

Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet have reportedly agreed to meet in Malaysia today, July 28, in peace talks facilitated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).