In Battambang province, about 229 families abandoned their homes following the arrests of community representatives, while two other groups pressed government officials for progress in their land disputes, according to media reporting from June and July.

In Samlot district’s Ta Tork commune, 229 families who had been in dispute with the Rath Sambath company left their homes for local authorities to demolish on June 28, according to Radio Free Asia.

The dispute traces back to a 5,000-hectare rubber concession given to Rath Sambath that displaced local residents in 2011. Around 200 families say they moved back to the land after 2017, when it appeared the company had abandoned its project.

However, the Battambang agriculture department said the people were illegally occupying the land, and five people were arrested on June 23, 2023, according to CamboJA news.

A resident told Radio Free Asia that the families were forced to leave. The Ta Tork commune chief told the U.S.-run media outlet that he would be unable to provide temporary shelter for the evictees.

Separately in Kors Kralor district’s Chhnal Mann commune, 69 families sent a letter to provincial ruling party representatives — including Interior Minister Sar Kheng — for land titles to about 254 hectares of land.

The families have protested for titles in the past, but local authorities have said the land belongs to the state. The authorities have kept watch on the area in suspicion of the families bringing more people to settle the area, according to RFA.

Meanwhile, in Kamrieng district’s Ta Krei commune, around 70 families told RFA they had been waiting six months for officials to respond to a dispute over a road to their houses.

According to the families, a developer in January blocked access to around 1 hectare of land where the families live. The families asked the CPP representatives in the province for help in regaining access to the 40-meter-long road, but have received no reply, one resident told RFA.

Kamnotra has been tracking the coverage of land disputes around the country, though the number of media reports being published appears to have dropped significantly this year.