Cambodian troops evict squatters in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, June 6 (Reuters) At least 700 armed Cambodian soldiers and riot police with tear gas moved into a Phnom Penh slum today to tear down dwellings that are home to more than 1,000 families, human rights activists and police said.

They cordoned off roads around the area near the Russian embassy to prevent reporters seeing what was going on, evicted rights activists, and took away six handcuffed squatters who refused to leave.

''If the government had offered all those squatters proper land, there would not be a problem,'' rights activist Chan Saveth, who was kicked out the area, told Reuters, referring to the attempt to move the squatters to the outskirts of the city.

Lao Hak, 41, who left the slum peacefully, was in tears. ''The police treat us like enemies,'' he said.

City officials refused comment on the attempt to move squatters 15 km to land provided by a private company in exchange for the slum area.

Policeman Tin Prasoeur, manning a roadblock as a truck carrying about 20 people was allowed through, said workers were being sent in to help tear down the shanties.

Land disputes are a hot issue in Cambodia, where garment factories and hotels have sprung up to expand the major textile and tourist industries.

Early last year, troops shot dead six villagers in a forceful land eviction in the northwest.

REUTERS CH KN1141