Work Starts in K Speu on Site of Peacekeeping Drills

Cambodia broke ground yesterday afternoon in Kompong Speu provice on a $1.7 million compound to house next year?s US-funded joint peacekeeping operations, and official said. The area will be used for the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative annual capstone exercise, which, according to the US Department of State, trains and equips peacekeepers for UN and regional peace support operations. Cambodia will host the field training exercise in July at RCAF?s ACO Tank Command headquarters in Kompong Speu?s Phnom Sruoch district. Twenty-two nations from the Asia-Pacific region are expected to attend, including Thailand. US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said the construction plans, paid for by the US Department of Defense, included seven barracks, each of which will house 90 soldiers; several storage buildings, and structures to be used during the exercise themselves. US Ambassador Carol Rodley and Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh attended the groundbreaking ceremony, the spokesman sail.

Sourced = The Cambodia Daily