Minorities fleeing Vietnam to Cambodia

The protests were some of the biggest in years

United Nations officials have confirmed that more members of ethnic minorities from Vietnam have fled to Cambodia to seek refugee.

Speaking to the BBC, officials from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, refused to confirm reports that more than 100 hilltribe people were now under their protection.

Cambodian officials have said about 100 refugees have asked Cambodian villages in Pech Chrada for permission to settle.

Ethnic minorities make up 15% of the population

This is the second group of ethnic refugees from Vietnam's Central Highlands, which was the scene of huge protests - the biggest for years - in February.

The protests were fuelled by anger over repression of fringe Protestant churches as well as the government turning ancestral forests into the country's largest coffee-growing region.

Vietnamese authorities have cracked down on the region since, sending in military and police reinforcements to the region and warning that "troublemakers" will be prosecuted.

Earlier this week, it announced plans to boost minority language broadcasting to the highlands, in a move to intensify propaganda to the region.

US-Vietnam tensions

Last month the United States granted asylum to 24 Vietnamese who had crossed into Cambodia.

The issue has raised tension between the two countries, with Vietnam asking for the return of all those who cross the border illegally.

A decree has warned against complaints against the state

Vietnam has also blamed a US-based minority exile group, the Montagnard Foundation, of inciting anger in the region, through using the Protestant religion.

Human rights groups have criticised Vietnam for religious repression, citing the crackdown on Protestant "house churches". There are reports that some house churches were torn down by authorities.

The US has a powerful human rights lobby, and many ethnic Montagnards fought alongside US forces in the Vietnam War.