PHNOM PENH: Twenty Cambodian soldiers were killed in an ammunition explosion at an army base on Saturday.

The blast at the army base in Kampong Speu province, to the west of Phnom Penh, also wounded several soldiers, with the army saying that an entire truck of munitions had exploded.

“I am deeply shocked to receive the news of the ammunition explosion incident,” Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, expressing his “deepest condolences” to the families of those killed.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion.

Pictures on social media showed a destroyed one-storey building wreathed in smoke, with residents of a nearby village also sharing images online of broken windows.

Other images showed what appeared to be civilians, including a child in diapers with cuts and gashes being treated in hospital.

Munitions accidents are not uncommon in Cambodia, which is awash with ammunition following decades of civil conflict — accidents that are exacerbated by frequently lax safety standards.

Cambodia’s army said the incident was a “warehouse ammunition explosion” that had destroyed a truck fully loaded with weaponry.

An office building, as well as nearby barracks, were destroyed, with 25 nearby homes also battered by the resulting explosion.

In his statement, Hun Manet said he had ordered the defence minister and the military’s commander-in-chief to urgently arrange funerals for the soldiers who died.

He also said that the families of those killed would receive roughly $20,000 each, while injured soldiers would get $5,000.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024