The head of an anti-communist group which opposes the government in Vietnam has denied reports that its members were caught trying to smuggle arms into the country from Cambodia.

The leader of the Revolutionary Government of Free Vietnam, Ngyuen Huu Chanh, says his members were unarmed when they were arrested by the Cambodian authorities and he has no idea why they have been detained.

His organisation is largely made up of former South Vietnamese soldiers who fought against the communists before 1975 and most of those arrested now live in Cambodia.

The Vietnamese foreign ministry said the group had been caught by the Cambodian authorities with weapons, which they planned to use in Vietnam.