People Returning to City After Holiday Met by Roadblocks

Police and military police set up roadblocks on major highways leading into Phnom Penh on Sunday as the opposition held its first rally in the capital since the party boycotted the opening of parliament last month over contested election results. Some officials manning the roadblocks said they had been set up to prevent unscrupulous minibus drivers perilously over-packing their vehicles with people returning to the city following the Pchum Ben holiday, while others said they had been ordered to search for weapons and explosives. At a checkpoint on National Road 1 staffed by military and district police on the border of Phnom Penh and Kandal province, Mean­chey district deputy military police chief Hong Sovann said that security forces had been put in place to control the flow of people returning from Pchum Ben festivities. “We’ve been stationed here since yesterday evening to check for explosives and smooth the traffic flow,” he said. …

 Alex Willemyns and Mech Dara
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/people-returning-to-city-after-holiday-met-by-roadblocks-44455/