A still from a video of the exchange shows an armed forest ranger moving forward under the AK fire of poachers, as his team members cover him. Environment ministry
The Ministry of Environment is working with national authorities to identify a group of heavily armed poachers who engaged in an April 5 shootout with rangers in a Mondulkiri wildlife sanctuary.
The rangers were patrolling the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary when they encountered the group of four to six, riding motorcycles inside the protected area. Immediately upon being challenged, the suspected poachers opened fire with Kalashnikov-style rifles. The rangers responded with their own weapons.
In a more than two-minute-long video of the ensuing shootout – released by the ministry on April 8 – at least 40 shots can be heard.
On Wednesday, April 9, ministry spokesperson Khvay Atitya stated that no injuries were reported.
He explained that the suspects had entered the protected forest area and were illegally hunting wildlife when they encountered the rangers.
“Several offenders opened fire on the law enforcement officers, who were conducting a routine patrol to protect natural resources. Our forces defended themselves. This was a serious threat to the lives of our rangers, who have dedicated themselves to safeguarding the Kingdom’s natural heritage for future generations,” he said.
Researchers from the ministry and WWF Cambodia announced the discovery of a herd of eight Asian elephants in the Srepok sanctuary during their 2022 study.
The 372,707-hectare sanctuary was announced as a REDD+ project site in April 2023.
A bay elephant calf was shot dead by poachers in a Mondulkiri province protected area in 2024. Environment ministry
In 2024, at least two elephants died in Mondulkiri province. One of them, a baby elephant calf, was killed by a gunshot.
Following the weekend’s exchange of gunfire, the Mondulkiri Provincial Department of Environment, the Koh Nhek district authorities and WWF-Cambodia held an emergency meeting to discuss measures to suppress natural resource crimes in the sanctuary.
Chheng Sambo, WWF Cambodia head of communications, reported that discussions are ongoing and no formal response has been released.
The environment ministry reflected on the dangers faced by the defenders of the Kingdom’s forests, noting that a similar incident in 2018 – also in one of Mondulkiri province’s protected areas – resulted in the shooting deaths of three officers.
The ministry strongly condemned the perpetrators for firing upon the rangers as they performed their duties.
“This was a brutal act committed by criminals using illegal weapons to obstruct and threaten the lives of law enforcement officers carrying out their duty to conserve natural resources,” it said.
The ministry is now cooperating closely with provincial authorities, the unified command committee and all levels of relevant law enforcement to locate the offenders and anyone involved in this illegal activity.
It has called on all authorities at every level, as well as the general public, to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
