The Ministry of National Defence has warned that legal action will be taken against the “ill-intended” individuals who recently used Facebook to post provocative content along with photos of military commanders in a bid to incite soldiers to oppose the government.

In a press release issued on Thursday and obtained by The Post on Sunday, the ministry deemed the move illegal and urged authorities to take action.

“The Ministry of National Defence considers these activities to be illegal and will not be tolerated. The ministry asks the relevant authorities to take action in accordance with the law.

“We would like the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to remain loyal, protect the legitimate government and maintain peace for the people. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces must thwart any attempts to cause social chaos and destruction of the nation’s peace,” read the statement.

The ministry also urged members of the armed forces to maximise the security of their social media accounts to prevent hacking that could leak unit secrets.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to comment on Sunday.

Im Sothy, the executive director of the Youth Council of Cambodia, echoed the ministry’s sentiments and urged relevant authorities to launch an awareness-raising campaign to prevent people from getting involved inadvertently.

“Relevant parties should make more public announcements because some people don’t know that sharing and posting such photos and content is wrong and could prompt authorities to arrest them."

“If we broadly inform the public, they would try to avoid taking part in such activities. The ministry’s measures could affect freedom of expression, but people should not share or post anything that defames or slanders others without properly clarifying the facts,” he said, before urging the public not to share information or news that did not come from reliable sources.