Farmer Digs Up Pol Pot Era Ammunition

A farmer clearing a plot of land in Pursat province’s Bakan district last week unearthed more than 100 metal ammunition boxes containing tens of thousands of unused AK-47 rounds that were buried during the Pol Pot era, local officials said on Wednesday.

Chhorn Chamnab, 24, made the discovery on Friday while using a tractor to level a small hill some 500 meters from Talou commune’s Prahal village in an area once controlled by Khmer Rouge soldiers, according to village chief Phang Orn.

He said the young farmer’s find amounted to 104 boxes, each containing 600 bullets.

“He was lucky that the ammunition was just ordinary bullets. If it had been mines or artillery shells, it could have been dangerous,” Mr. Orn said.

Deputy provincial police chief Prum Sarun said local authorities confiscated the trove of Chinese-made ammunition and handed it over to provincial police on Sunday.

“All of the AK bullets are still in good condition,” Mr. Sarun said, adding that they would be stored at the provincial police station.

“They could be used if necessary,” he said.

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