An Giang commemorates locals killed in Khmer Rouge massacre

A solemn ceremony has been held in Ba Chuc in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to commemorate the death of 3,175 local people in a Khmer Rouge massacre in 1978.

The service was organized annually by the provincial authorities on the 15^th and 16^th days of the third Lunar month, which fell on May 3^rd and 4^th this year.

Many children were killed by the Khmer Rouge in Ba Chuc (Tri Ton district of An Giang province). Photo: kienthuc.net.vn

Some 3,157 local people, including children, women and elderly people, were slaughtered when the Khmer Rouge forces entered Ba Chuc commune from April 18^th-29^th, 1978.

To remember the victims of the massacre, the local authorities built a tomb to keep the remains of 1,159 victims.

The Ba Chuc tomb was recognized as the national historical relic site in 1980.

Upgrades to the 5-hectare tomb started in 2011 with a total investment of VND 30 billion (USD 1.39 million) and are expected to be finished by 2018 to mark 40 years since the massacre.