As fighting continues to rage between the last remnants of the Khmer Rouge and Hun Sen's government troops, some dark political moves are being played out on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The creation of a vast camp just inside Thailand to shelter Khmer Rouge civilians is undoubtedly an important humanitarian gesture.
At the same time, the civilian refuge plays another role that may help draw out the last stand of the rebels, diplomats and border experts believe.
Peasant villagers have long been pawns in the wider resistance game. They are as important as actual territory to an organisation that fights using lightning guerilla raids rather than full frontal attacks.
That situation is continuing as more than 14,500 Khmer Rouge families get food, water and medicine after being led across the border by soldier relatives. Others are camping nearby, a sign they will soon return when fighting stops.
Civilians grow rice, tend crops and help make mines and booby traps while providing a strategically important population base outside government control.