Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has appealed to Prime Minister Hun Sen to aid the 1,500 families evicted by a recent development project in Phnom Penh.
The families were kicked out of the 'Sparrow's Nest' neighborhood, a tangle of shanties and makeshift homes along the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh, and removed to a remote site outside the capital, far from work, clean water and schools.
Phnom Penh authorities said Sam Rainsy was circumventing them for political gain by going to the prime minister.