Residents Dispute RCAF Land Grabs in Siem Reap, Criminal Charges in Koh Kong

Villagers in Siem Reap’s Senchey village have alleged collusion between soldiers and local officials to grab their land under the guise of a conservation area.

San Sarith, a landholder in the village, told VOD on Tuesday that about 200 families had been involved in a land dispute for more than a decade with the Royal Cambodian Army’s Region 4 forces, a division covering Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom. 

Sarith accused the soldiers of threatening people to prevent them from using or working on the disputed land, which is located in Kantuot commune of Svay Loeu district. The commune includes parts of both Phnom Kulen National Park and Kulen Prum Tep Wildlife Sanctuary, but the disputed area is in neither.

Sarith said that after people filed a complaint with the Siem Reap provincial court and Battambang Appeal Court, local authorities claimed the land is no longer involved with the soldiers. Authorities then turned to accuse people of working on land in the “Chob Som Nature Protection Area.”

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