Mapping the killing fields of Cambodia 1998 at Phnom Srok and Serey Sophorn, Banteay Meanchey province.

D119507

Mapping the killing fields of Cambodia 1998 at Phnom Srok and Serey Sophorn, Banteay Meanchey province.

English

Cambodia

19 August 1998

Banteay Meanchey

DC-Cam/D119507 20 March 2025

DC-Cam

1.Memorial at Wat SopheakoMongkol
2. Chamkar Khnao

An interview with Banteay Meanchey's people.

Provincial Geographical Features
Banteay Meanchey Province shares a common 264km-long borderline with Thailand on the north and the west, and is bordered by
Battambang and Siem Reap Provinces on the east and the south.

According to the district office's report, the province covers 7,865 square meters including 2,245.5 square meters of paddy field,
4,584.5 square meters of forest, 905 square meters of small streams and lakes, and 130 square meters of residential areas. It has a
population of 577,733 in which 289,423 is female. It consists of 9 districts including 1) Serey Sophorn, 2) Mongkol Borei, 3) O
Chrov, 4) Preah Net Preah, 5) Phnom Srok, 6) Svay Chek, 7) Thma Puok, 8) Banteay Ampil and 10) Malai1. It is composed of 65 sub-districts acknowledged by the goverment Decree and 3 newly created sub-districts. There are 569 villages with other 84 newly created. After the meeting we left the provincial office to visit certain districts.

August 19, 1998
Serey Sophorn district (also known as Sisophon)
At that time, the district governor was not around; so we had to return to the District Information Department. At 10:18 a.m., we
met Mr. Pall Sam Oeun, Chief of the Department, and his two colleagues, Mr. Uk Soeun, Chief of District Radio and TV Section,
and Mr. Sisomit, Administration Chief. During the meeting with them, Mr. Pall Samoeun informed us about Serey Sophorn district,
saying "there was a large execution site in surrounding areas of Chamkar Khnao [jack fruit tree field], north of Wat Kiri Chum". Wat
Chamkar Khnao and Svay Mountain are located in O Ambel village, O Ambel sub-district, Serey Sophorn district. He continued to
tell us that the killing pits remain visible, which could be used as physical evidence. A few days after the Vietnamese invasion
(January 7, 1979), local villagers excavated the victims' bodies out of the pits looking for gold and other jewelry, which after their
excavation left the remains scattered around the killing pits. Mr. Uk Soeun also stated that there were approximately hundreds of
victims buried in each deep killing pit. So he estimated the number of victims killed at about 4,000 to 5,000. Mr. Sisomit added that
most of the victims' remains had been brought to keep in a memorial at Wat Sopheak Mongkol located in O Ambel village, O Ambel
sub-district, Serey Sophorn district. After the meeting the district officials agreed to be witnesses to the execution sites.

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