It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.
Phnom Penh:
Twenty Cambodian soldiers have been killed in a munitions explosion at an army base in the west of the country, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Saturday.
The blast, which also injured several soldiers, occurred on Saturday afternoon at the army base in Kampong Speu province, Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, without giving more details.
“I am deeply shocked by the news of the ammunition explosion incident,” said Hun Manet, who expressed his “deepest condolences” to the families of the dead.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.
Photos on social media showed a destroyed one-storey building enveloped in smoke, while residents of a nearby village also shared images of broken windows online.
In the statement, Hun Manet said he had instructed the Minister of National Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to urgently arrange funerals for the dead soldiers.
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