Cambodia preventing 13 Vietnamese 'Montagnards' seeking asylum - U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Local authorities in Cambodia are preventing 13 members of a Vietnamese ethnic minority from going to the capital Phnom Penh to claim asylum as refugees, despite an accord with the government and the United Nations, U.N. agencies said on Friday.

The U.N. refugee agency and U.N. human rights office voiced concerns about the safety and deteriorating health of the 13, who they said have been hiding in the Cambodian jungle for seven weeks, fearing arrest and deportation to Vietnam.