Cambodia prime minister rules out firings over stampede

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia's prime minister said on Monday that no state officials were to blame for a stampede last week that killed 351 people, and ruled out resignations in the aftermath of the country's worst tragedy in three decades.

Premier Hun Sen said calls for senior figures within the government and security forces to step down were politically motivated to serve opposition parties, but he said mistakes had been made and the situation was badly handled.

"No one will resign from their positions after what happened," Hun Sen said during the opening of a new government building in the capital, Phnom Penh.