Forty-six families facing eviction in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district were granted a temporary reprieve after protesting in front of the city hall yesterday—but not before excavators badly damaged four homes.

According to protesters, the excavator operators postponed their activities after the petitions were submitted, calling on Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema and other officials to halt evictions without compensation.

Villagers have been told to move to make way for a dredging project in the canal, which is so obstructed that its surface resembled a floating carpet of trash on a recent visit. 

Resident Ek Samin, 69, said  few people opposed the eviction, “but authorities should pay suitable compensation, because we don’t have places to live.”

“Authorities won’t stop moving because it is anarchy; they don’t have official documents,” Nirouth commune chief Sam Phun said. “Now we are talk-ing about solutions for them.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Yuthana at [email protected]