Twenty Cambodian soldiers were killed in the explosion of a munitions stockpile on a military base in the west of the country, Prime Minister Hun Manet announced on Saturday.
The explosion, which also injured several soldiers, occurred Saturday afternoon at the military base in Kampong Speu province, Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, without providing further details.
“I am deeply shocked to learn of this incident due to the explosion of munitions,” he wrote, expressing his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.
The cause of the explosion is not known at this stage.
Images on social media show a destroyed one-story building in a cloud of smoke. Residents of a neighboring village shared images of their broken windows.
The Prime Minister further indicates that he ordered the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army to take charge of organizing the funerals of the killed soldiers.
