The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) has appealed to the government

and other local NGOs to raise funds for victims of severe draughts in Boset district,

in Kampong Speu province.

Five people have died and another 900 families are at risk of food shortages as a

result of the lack of rain, according to a Radio Free Asia report on September 21.

CHRAC said villagers are calling on their leaders for immediate food assistance and

water supplies for their plantations and rice fields.

The committee also called for the Ministry of Meteorology and Water Resource to repair

the irrigation system to prevent similar occurrences in the future.