Three people were arrested in Banteay Meanchey province on Friday during a protest in which more than 400 vendors rallied against orders to move to new market sites.

In what authorities said was an effort to “restore public order”, police and military forces were deployed to the Sisophon market in the early morning to order the vendors to two new private markets.

The vendors resisted and joined forces to block National Road 5, which connects Sisophon town with Poipet, and soon converged on town hall.

Police arrested three people, who public official Kor Soum Saroen said were not vendors, but simply those trying to upset public order.

“We’ve suggested that the vendors sell at the new markets for public order,” he said.

Vendor Sean Soung said the stall operators remained where they were – an area known as “the old market” – because they believed the new sites were not central enough and would not attract as many customers.