Thai soldiers clashed with Cambodian families as they battled to remove 170 homes they claim are encroaching on their territory.

Footage shows the locals wielding sticks and screaming as they pushed back against the soldiers in the at Ban Nong Chan district of Sa Kaeo province on September 4.

Thailand claims it historically allowed refugees to stay in the region following the carnage of the Khmer Rouge era, and had never evicted them.

But leaders changed their stance following a series of rocket attacks into four provinces that killed at least 23 civilians on July 24, including a strike on a fuel station in Sisaket.


This week, Thai officials put up signs in the area in Thai, English, and Khmer, declaring that the villagers were 'committing an offence under Thai jurisdiction'.

The signs read: 'They are hereby ordered to dismantle and vacate the land. Failure to comply will result in legal proceedings and punishment under the laws of the Kingdom of Thailand.'

Those who refuse to leave may face up to 15 years in jail and a maximum fine of 100,000 Baht, officials said.

Sa Kaeo Governor Parinya Phothisat said he has requested cooperation from Governor Oum Reatrey in neighbouring Banteay Meanchey in Cambodia to move residents from the 'encroached land'.

Citing a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2000, he said the Cambodians were located in areas within Thai jurisdiction.

Thai authorities have deployed soldiers along the border amid fears of escalating violence.

A bloody military confrontation 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 Defence Ministry accused Thailand of provoking the violence, saying its forces acted in self-defence.

Officials said that dozens of people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced on both sides of the border.

Both sides have reached a shaky truce following talks facilitated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

American activist Michael Alfaro, who claimed to have visited the region on behalf of the White House, said the conflict showed few signs of abating and urged the countries to follow the ceasefire brokered by President Trump.