PHNOM PENH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong, leader of the Mohanikaya Buddhist sect in Cambodia, died on Monday at the age of 93 after battling a long illness, according to a joint statement.

"Venerable Tep Vong, Great Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia, passed away on Monday at 5:40 p.m. local time at the Ounalom pagoda in Phnom Penh due to illness at the age of 93," said the joint statement released by the Ministry of Cult and Religion and the Board of the Buddhist Monks.

His body will be placed at the pagoda for the funeral, the statement said.

Tep Vong was among the first monks to be re-ordained after the fall of the Democratic Kampuchea in January 1979 and he was known for his role in re-establishing the Cambodian monkhood. Enditem

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