
Police Downplay Soldiers Allegedly Shooting at Forest Defenders
Local police claimed soldiers were on holiday, not shooting at patrollers in a Kampong Speu community forest, as residents allege they were again targeted by soldiers last week.
Local police claimed soldiers were on holiday, not shooting at patrollers in a Kampong Speu community forest, as residents allege they were again targeted by soldiers last week.
Kampong Speu’s Metta community forest, home to a monk who has been helping locals protect the woods, is seeing rising violence and clearing by soldiers, including warning shots fired at the monk, residents have alleged.
In Kampong Speu, a forest-dwelling monk hoots to mimic animals’ cries and talks of living in harmony with nature. But the community forest where he lives has been handed to the military, and nearby residents are camping among the trees to protect the land.
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