PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - About 12 police officers were guarding a church in Cambodia on Tuesday after villagers ransacked it, believing its presence was the cause of a three-year drought, police said.
Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist but local superstitions still play a large part in people's beliefs.
Dozens of villagers attacked the building on Sunday, smashing windows, lights, fans and tables, the police chief, Sort Nady, in Svay Rieng province said.
"They were angry with the church. They said the presence of the church has caused continuous droughts that have prevented them from growing rice," he said.
Sort Nady said officials had met with the disgruntled villagers to give them "education" about religious rights.
"They have been told it was unlawful to do such a thing," he said.
An official at the church, 70 miles east of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, declined to comment on the incident. The church's denomination was not known.