A Change of Guard

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Monday 14 September 2009

Thai soldiers burned a Cambodian logger alive

Source: Reaksmei Kampuchea newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization

A group of Thai black-clad soldiers from company 2608 based in Surin province have allegedly tied a wounded Cambodian teenage logger to his push-carts and burned him alive after they shot him during a crack down on illegal Cambodian loggers.

Sources said that at 12 midday on 11th September, a group of 12 Cambodian loggers were working to clear the logs from the area on the borders near O'Smach and suddenly they saw a group of Thai soldiers abseiling from a helicopter that was hovering over them. While on the ground, the Thai soldiers began shooting indiscriminately, wounding two Cambodians. One wounded teenager, 18 year-0ld Mao Kloeng, was rescued by his friends back to Cambodian territories but 16 year-old Yon Rith was arrested by the Thai soldiers and was allegedly burned alive by Thai soldiers.

Mao Kloeng said from his hospital bed that his group were working between border marker no. 12 and border marker no. 13 at Kaun Kreal district, east of O'Smach near Samrong provincial town of Ouddor Meanchey province, when a helicopter came from nowhere and dropped a group of soldiers who began shooting immediately. "Our group went to cut kro-nhoung tree (high quality hardwood) on top of the Dangrek Mountains and were surrounded and shot at by Thai soldiers that caused us to run everywhere. I was wounded but I tried to run away. While I was running away I heard Rith screamed 'ouch, ouch' louder and louder when I run about 100 metres away from him. A few minutes later I saw a strong and big fire burning ferociously and I heard an explosion of the tyres of the push-carts and the sound of Rith screaming becoming weaker and weaker", he said.

Other loggers who had escaped back safely to Cambodian territories said Rith cannot escape after he was seriously wounded by the shooting. He was arrested by Thai soldiers from company 2608, they tied him to two carts loaded with kro-nhoung logs, poured the petrol over his body and burned him alive.

In recent months, many Cambodian immigrant workers have been wounded and killed by Thai soldiers for illegally crossing to work in Thailand.

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