Kampong Speu residents accused soldiers of threatening to use violence against a monk trying to protect the community’s Metta forest, confiscating his phone to stop him from taking photos of their activities.

Teok Mao, a member of the Metta forest community in Oral district, said soldiers threatened violence against the monk, who lives in the forest and was taking photos of soldiers plowing land that was previously part of the forest.

The soldiers grabbed the monk’s phone during the incident on Friday to stop him taking photos, Mao said.

It was not the first violent incident in the forest dispute, he pointed out, referring to previous gunshots amid confrontations between community members and soldiers.

“We have to keep all of this evidence and not allow them to go further,” he said. “They destroyed the forest and destroyed all the evidence.”

In 2021, a government sub-decree granted 262 hectares of forest land to the military’s armored vehicle military unit. The land is part of the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary and has traditionally been used by about 253 families, according to rights group Licadho.

Another community member, Khorn Sarith, said the soldiers had been active in the cleared parts of the forest, dredging for sand and digging boundaries.

“They plow and place marker poles. When community members stop them, they leave, but when we return home, they come to do it again. They do this almost every day.”

Pen Sarin, who villagers said was the soldier leading the clearing of Metta forest, denied any threats and said soldiers were only clearing the land the government had given them.