Cambodia to let 62 Vietnamese refugees stay longer

Cambodia said Friday it will allow 62 Vietnamese refugees to stay in the country a few more weeks as a favor to the U.N.

refugee agency but believes they no longer face any danger in Vietnam and can be sent back.

Cambodia previously gave the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees a New Year's Day deadline to close a refugee compound in the Cambodian capital.

But the country will now give the agency until Feb. 15 instead, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said. “Vietnam is speeding up its economic growth. There is no war and no bombs, therefore Vietnam should not have any refugees,” Hor Namhong told reporters.

“For the refugees who have not been granted asylum, they must be sent back to Vietnam.

They cannot stay in Cambodia.” The Foreign Ministry notified the UNHCR ...

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