Somsak dispatches N95 masks to troops along Thai-Cambodian border

Thailand's Public Health Minister dispatches N95 masks to troops along the Thai-Cambodian border to combat stench from abandoned Cambodian soldiers' bodies.

Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday that he had ordered two departments within his ministry to dispatch N95 masks to troops along the Thai-Cambodian border to filter out the stench from abandoned Cambodian soldiers’ bodies.

Somsak explained that he had instructed the Department of Health and the Department of Disease Control to take action to mitigate the unpleasant odour caused by the abandoned bodies of fallen Cambodian troops along the border.

The N95 respirators were primarily sent to the troops guarding the border, who had complained of the strong stench. Somsak also noted that villagers along the border could be given masks if they were allowed to return home from their shelters. However, the army has so far ordered them to remain in the shelters for safety.Somsak mentioned that the chemical processes in the bodies of the fallen soldiers had caused a strong odour, leading to nausea and discomfort for people with poor health. He clarified that no reports of disease outbreaks had been made in the area.

He stated that wearing N95 masks could help reduce the smell and that he had instructed the two departments to provide special assistance to vulnerable groups.

Somsak added that, since the bodies were abandoned on the Cambodian side of the border, Thailand could do little apart from providing N95 masks to the troops and local people.

Earlier, the Thai army condemned its Cambodian counterpart for abandoning its fallen soldiers and refusing to retrieve the bodies for proper burial or religious rites.

(2025/08/05-00:00)