Cambodian army vows to defend Hun Sen's government

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) reiterated its strong commitment to protecting Prime Minister Hun Sen's government as the country's main opposition party continue boycotting parliament since the July's election. "The RCAF vows to defend the constitution and the legitimate government, which was elected by the legitimate National Assembly," the Ministry of Defense said in a statement dated Tuesday and released to the media Wednesday. The statement said Hun Sen was appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni as the prime minister of Cambodia for the fifth term of the government. Political row between the Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party and the Sam Rainsy's opposition party has persisted since the July's poll results showed that the ruling party won 68 parliamentary seats and the opposition got 55 seats. Claiming serious irregularities, the opposition refused to accept the results and has boycotted parliament and held many protests to demand the resignation of Hun Sen and a re-election. Hun Sen has said that he would neither step down nor call a re- vote. The leaders of the two parties met twice in September in a bid to resolve their political differences, but the talks failed to reach any agreements.