A Cambodian man who had been illegally logging rosewood across the border in Thailand was shot dead by Thai soldiers on Friday, a village chief in Oddar Meanchey province said Tuesday.
Karm Dong, chief of Trapaing Bei village in Trapaing Prasat district’s Preah Brolay commune, said a group of loggers returned from Thai territory on Friday and told him that Thai soldiers had fired at them, killing one man.
“The man who died is from outside our province,” Mr. Dong said, explaining that the other loggers had told him as much.
The man’s identity is not known, and his body has not been recovered. Contacted Tuesday, Cambodian border police said they knew nothing about the shooting.
Preah Brolay commune police chief Chea Nimol also said he was unaware of the shooting, but that his officers would investigate.
“Our police will find out the victim’s name,” he said.
Srey Narin, a coordinator for rights group Adhoc in Oddar Meanchey, said two men had been shot dead by Thai soldiers while illegally logging across the border from the province over the past two months.
