Land protests increasingly met with force, rights group says

Human rights group Licadho raised the alarm yesterday over the increased use of armed force by authorities as they seek to suppress protests over Cambodia’s numerous land disputes. It noted that during the past two months, security forces have opened fire on villagers during three protests and fired warning shots at two other protests. “Cambodia’s land-grabbing crisis has taken a disturbingly violent turn in the last two months,” Licadho said in a statement, which mentioned five five incidents that involve the use of firearms by government forces. During the incidents, 19 people were injured, seven of whom were shot, the organization said…