Preah Vihear Temple Suffers Severe Damage from Armed Conflict; UNESCO Warns of Threat to World Heritage Value

A joint UNESCO-ICOMOS mission report, released on September 9, 2026, has detailed severe damage to Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple caused by armed attacks in July and December of 2025. The mission, which inspected the temple from March 1 to 6, 2026, found that these conflicts have critically impacted the temple's integrity, authenticity, and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The report recorded 142 damaged areas from the July attacks and 420 from the December attacks. The scale of destruction from this recent conflict has been described as "incomparable" to damage from previous conflicts. The mission explicitly noted that "no area was spared" from the impact, affecting not only the temple's structures but also its infrastructure and tourism facilities. Of greater concern, UNESCO-ICOMOS has assessed that Preah Vihear Temple is under "serious and specific danger" and requires an "urgent and crucial conservation operation." The report emphasizes that Preah Vihear Temple is not merely a Cambodian heritage site but a heritage of humanity. Protecting it is a shared responsibility that requires adherence to international law and a commitment to prevent armed conflicts from destroying irreplaceable cultural heritage. By: Kong Sereyrath Source: His Excellency Net Pheaktra's Facebook Page © 2018 National news agency of Cambodia. All rights reserved.