Tens of thousands of Cambodians return home via Chanthaburi border crossing

Tens of thousands of Cambodians returned home via a border crossing in Chanthaburi’s Pong Nam Ron district on Tuesday, following unconfirmed reports that Cambodia’s strongman threatened to seize their land if they remained working in Thailand.

The exact number of Cambodians who crossed the Ban Laem border checkpoint was not announced, but reporters estimated that the number could be two or three times higher than those who crossed the border on Monday.

Authorities guarding the border checkpoint refused to provide figures, stating that they could not keep count as Cambodians were simply allowed to walk past the gate without going through the usual immigration process.

The Cambodians began arriving at the border crossing at 7 a.m., waiting for the gate to open at 9 a.m. Officials had to arrange for them to wait at the Ban Laem Nua market as the building at the Ban Laem checkpoint was too small to accommodate them.

Some returning Cambodians said their relatives back home had called them to return, claiming the Cambodian government had threatened to seize their farmland if they continued working for "the enemy nation," Thailand.