Phnom Penh: Twenty soldiers were killed and several others injured in an ammunition explosion at a base in the west of Cambodia on Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Hun Manet said. Hun Manet said in a Facebook post that he was “deeply shocked” when he received the news of the explosion at the base in Kampong Speu province.
20 Cambodian soldiers killed in ammunition explosion at a military base
An ammunition explosion at a base in western Cambodia on Saturday afternoon claimed the lives of twenty soldiers and injured numerous more.
FILE - Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet attends the East Asia Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. Cambodia’s prime minister says 20 soldiers have been killed and several others injured in an ammunition explosion at a base in the southwest of the country. Hun Manet said in a Facebook post that he was “deeply shocked” when he received the news of the explosion Saturday afternoon at the base in Kampong Speu province. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Published : Apr 27, 2024, 7:30 PM IST
|Updated : Apr 28, 2024, 2:44 PM IST
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion and Hun Manet did not say in his post on Facebook. He offered condolences to the soldiers’ families and promised the government would pay for their funerals and provide compensation both to those killed and those injured. Pictures from the scene showed a destroyed building still smoldering, and soldiers receiving treatment in a hospital.
Hun Manet, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was promoted to be a four-star general shortly before he was elected to serve as prime minister, succeeding his autocratic father Hun Sen.
Last Updated : Apr 28, 2024, 2:44 PM IST