"Borei Keila building destroyed as holdout-residents detained", 17 September 2019

City Hall ... oversaw the demolition of a building used as a makeshift home in the Borei Keila area as some of its residents were detained in the Prampi Makara district office to avoid confrontation.

Deputy Governor Mean Chanyada and City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey led the operation, sealing off the area from human rights groups and journalists as authorities used four excavators to knock down the building. Several zinc-roofed homes nearby were also demolished...

Sar Sorn, a representative of the Borei Keila community, said City Hall invited members of 12 families to the Prampi Makara district office to find a solution for them over the long-running land dispute.

“All of them were brought with a promise to solve the problem, but they were not allowed to leave,” she said.

... She added that the authorities ... arrested five residents. They were sent to the Prey Speu rehabilitation centre in Dangkor district. Ms Sorn said the move was done ahead of ... operation...

The Borei Keila dispute began ... after the government gave Phanimex, a construction company, the right to develop 14.12 hectares of community land.

... Nhem Sreynith, one of 13 residents detained, said over the phone while at the district office that the residents were detained because the authorities did not want to instigate a protest that would interrupt their work...

Soeng Sen Karuna, spokesman for rights group Adhoc, ... said his organisation was not able to properly monitor the situation because journalists and civil society members were prevented from entering...