Cambodia Confirms No Cambodian Was Affected in Beirut Blast
An aerial view shows the massive damage done to Beirut port's grain silos (C) and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a mega-blast tore through the harbour in the heart of the Lebanese capital with the force of an earthquake, killing more than 100 people and injuring over 4,000. (Photo: AFP)
- Sao Phal Niseiy
- August 6, 2020 8:31 AM
The few Cambodians in that country were away from the site of the explosion, they say
PHNOM PENH--The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said on Aug. 6 that, as far as the authorities know, there was no Cambodian in Beirut when an explosion erupted in the port, devastating parts of the city on Aug. 4.
Ministry spokesman Koy Koung confirmed on Aug. 6 that no Cambodian citizen currently is in Lebanon except for Cambodian military officers who are serving under the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in Lebanon.
“There has so far been no record of Cambodian citizen living in Lebanon,” Koung said in a phone interview.
Contacted on Aug. 6, Sem Sovanny, Cambodian Peacekeeping Forces director-general, confirmed that 184 Cambodian military officers are now serving under the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
But they are based far from the devastated area, he said. “They are living in a town, which is located around 100 kilometers from Beirut, the capital city where the explosion occurred.
“So, they are all safe,” Sovanny stressed.
The blast, which occurred on Aug. 4 at in Beirut’s port, caused massive destruction in the port and parts of Beirut, killing at least 113 people and injuring more than 4,000, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).
It is believed to have been caused by the ignition of a huge depot of ammonium nitrate in the port, heaping misery in a country already in crisis, AFP reported.
