"Mounting desperation in Cambodia amid COVID lockdown", 2 May 2021

Iv Sovann has been in lockdown with her family in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh … when the government imposed a raft of stringent measures to curb a sudden surge of coronavirus cases.

The 36-year-old’s family of six has no income…

Desperate for food, this week she was among a group of people in the Phnom Penh district of Stueng Meanchey who took matters into their own hands.

“We saw some people get some food like rice noodles and canned fish, and we did not get anything. So, we went out to ask for our food,” she said.

Her protest secured Iv Sovann a 25kg (55 pounds) bag of rice from the local authority but others were not so lucky.

Within these districts – home to roughly 300,000 people – villagers are unable to leave their homes except for medical emergencies…

…, Amnesty International called on the government to allow civil society to deliver aid to those facing food shortages warning Cambodia was facing a crisis as a result of the government’s policies in response to the rising infections, all linked to the B.1.1.7 variant.

“The Cambodian government’s outrageous mishandling of this COVID-19 lockdown is causing untold suffering and sweeping human rights violations across the country,” Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director, said in a statement.

… Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, reacted angrily to Amnesty’s criticisms.

… Local and international organisations have called on the government to let them into the red zones to help those in need…