At least six demonstrators were arrested in front of City Hall on Wednesday as they joined a protest for the release of eight others in the Borei Keila neighborhood eviction last month.
A similar protest in January led to the unlawful detention of around 30 residents before they escaped a detention center in the capital.
Both protests were for the release of the eight people arrested during a violent forced eviction on Jan. 3, where residents threw bottles and rocks at police attempting to push them from their homes to make way for a development deal.
Some of Wednesday’s female protesters tore off their shirts as they faced off with riot police carrying batons and shields. Others threw bottles of water at police. No one was injured.
Koet Che, deputy city administrator, declined to comment at the scene.
Am Sam Ath, lead monitor for the rights group Licadho, said the solution to ongoing eviction problems was not in police violence.
“The Cambodian government should find a good solution for the protesters, to show the internationals and Asean that it can respect human rights,” he said.