A 15-year old teenager died in a recent clash between villagers and security forces in the eastern province of Kratie, after community leaders attempted to evict villagers from their farmland. Human rights activists are being denied from entering the Proma village as soldiers need to secure the area in order to find the leaders that prompted the confrontation that resulted to the girl’s demise.
Concerns of unjust treatment from the security forces were raised following incidents that showed Cambodian forces’ sporadic use of violence against activists. Just recently, an activist investigating on illegal logging was shot dead. Land concessions in Cambodia remain controversial as thousands of families are driven away from their homes.
A UN envoy called on the government to halt the violence among its security forces. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen suspended land concessions to further review policies.
