SURIN, Thailand — Thai explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams are inspecting dozens of impact sites from unexploded BM-21 rockets in agricultural areas near the Thai-Cambodian border. While residents grew weary of conflict, and repeated evacuations that have cut off their livelihoods.
On Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, reporters accompanied EOD units from Surin provincial police, along with local police, district officials and village defence volunteers, as they examined bomb craters in farmland in Naeng Mut subdistrict, Kap Choeng district, Surin province.
The area was previously hit by artillery shells and BM-21 rockets fired from the Cambodian side during recent clashes, officials said. Cassava fields, rubber plantations and sugarcane farms suffered damage.
Authorities said inspections on Monday found that all of the craters examined showed evidence that the munitions had functioned fully. Officers collected fragments and shrapnel as evidence and said inspections must be completed as quickly as possible to ensure residents’ safety. The teams remained in the area throughout the day, including eating lunch on site, to avoid delays.
Local residents said they have begun returning to their farms to assess damage but remain anxious.
Wilaiwan Sukpinit, 39, a rubber plantation owner in Naeng Mut village, said she had recently resumed tapping rubber but remained uneasy.
“I’m still not confident about the situation and have to stay alert all the time,” she said. “I want it to end peacefully as soon as possible. Every evacuation costs a lot of money, we can’t work and we have no income. I don’t want this to happen again, but if it does, we’re ready to evacuate.”
Another rubber farmer, Kachanan Khongkampan, 22, said the fighting had severely affected her family’s income.
“We’ve lost a lot of income, but we have no choice but to come back to tap rubber because this is our only source of livelihood,” she said. “I want it to end. I don’t want any fighting. I feel sorry for the villagers, and I also have a young child. We have no income but still have debts to pay.”
Staff Sgt. Thitipong Ku Phimai, an EOD officer with Surin provincial police, said that in Kap Choeng district alone, teams inspected 17 impact sites between the morning and early afternoon, with more than 10 additional sites still awaiting checks.
He said residents continue to report new locations as they return to their farmland, making the total number of sites uncertain. In Naeng Mut subdistrict, authorities have now inspected 47 impact sites, including those examined on Monday.
“Most of what we find are BM-21 rocket warheads that have already detonated,” he said. “Some unexploded ordnance was destroyed earlier, but many sites still need to be checked. We are working urgently with local agencies to make the area safe as quickly as possible so residents can feel at ease.”