Human rights groups also continued their condemnation of the government’s claim that the villagers were part of a secessionist movement, calling such statements a fabricated excuse to evict the families on behalf of a rubber plantation company, which the villagers have accused of stealing their farmland.

Kratie provincial governor Sar Chamrong said more than 600 families from Kompong Cham and Prey Veng provinces who had moved into the village in recent years had been rounded up and sent packing.

Mr. Chamrong said that an “original” group of 360 or so families were not expelled from the province, but he failed to explain how authorities made the distinction between the new and old villagers.

“The original villagers—more than 360 families—living there are very happy with our operation because they had been extorted by those anarchists for a long time,” Mr. Chamrong said. “We could not let them stay longer, otherwise those ringleaders would gather more and more people from everywhere to grab the state land and secede,” he said. …

About 200 soldiers, police and military police accompanied by a helicopter swept into Chhlong district’s Broma village on Wednesday morning, arresting at least four men and reportedly injuring several others.

Heng Chantha, 14, was shot in the abdomen by the security forces and died on the way to the hospital. Authorities claimed they had met resistance as they descended on the village, though no members of the security forces sustained any injuries.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng and national police commissioner Neth Savoeun had planned the operation days in advance. “The secession allegations are a very transparent pretext, and not a very persuasive one, to justify the unlawful use of the military against civilians,” Pung Chhiv Kek, president of human rights group Licadho, said in a statement. “Are we to believe that a few hundred villagers armed with sticks and crossbows are trying to start their own country? The more reasonable explanation is that they simply want to farm their own land.” …

Joint police and military police forces locked down the area where a land dispute has raged this year, and claimed they had arrested seven villagers accused of plotting a succession with the group Democratic Association.

On Wednesday, joint forces estimated to have numbered close to 1,000 moved in, firing on those who stood in their way, to evict about 1,000 families from Pro Ma village in Chhlong district’s Damrei commune.

Fresh details emerged yesterday of what happened during the crackdown, which authorities have said was to capture the five masterminds of Democratic Association, including leader Bun Ratha, who has fled into hiding.

Pale-faced 44-year-old villager Pov Ban, who along with 10 others had taken refuge at an office of the rights group Adhoc and was still visibly in shock, said before the forces moved in, residents were given no opportunity to leave. …

Bilateral trade has risen by 300 per cent during the past five years and was worth about US$400 million in 2011, according to the British embassy in Phnom Penh.

It increased by more than 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. …

According to human rights group Licadho, Cambodia Daily reporter Phorn Bopha spent about two hours yesterday responding to questions from investigating Judge Min Makara. …

Dave Welsh, country director of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, said he raised the idea of a brands-sponsored food program with representatives of 14 brands that source from the Kingdom, including Nike, PUMA, Gap and Walt Disney …