Chy Kreng district police in Siem Reap province seized 138 homemade rifles on Wednesday from locals, while Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) working groups in Prey Veng province unearthed more than 100 cluster bombs.
Tan Sophon, Chy Kreng district deputy police chief, said most of the homemade weapons were seized from villagers, while the others were voluntarily handed over during a gun campaign.
Police went door-to-door in search of weapons and asked the public to hand over any rifles in their possession in return for amnesty against legal action for owning them.
Sophon said the weapons included 15 wooden rifles and 12 arrow rifles, and 106 airguns. The officials also seized unusable rifles such as an AK47, an M16, two CKCs and an AR15.
“The villagers were using them to hunt rats, snakes and other nocturnal animals. Currently the weapons are being kept at the provincial police station warehouse,” Sophon said.
Separately, Heng Ratana, director-general of CMAC, told The Post that over two days his working groups found around 100 cluster bombs in Prey Veng’s Peam Ro district.
Ratana added that his teams were looking for more bombs and called on the people in the area to be careful if they came across suspicious or unfamiliar objects. “Please report to the authorities if you find anything suspicious and do not touch or play with it,” he said.