PHNOM PENH, April 14 (Xinhua) — The U.S. State Department on Saturday declined to comment on the dismissals of 32 U.S. embassy employees in Cambodia over alleged sharing of pornographic material in a non-official chat group.

"We do not comment on internal personnel matters," the U.S. State Department official wrote in an email to Xinhua.

Asked whether the termination of those employees was made in compliance with the Cambodia's Labor Law, the official said, "We note only that the Embassy has clear and firm policies regarding appropriate employee conduct as well as an appeal process for employees who believe they were unfairly terminated."

Media reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources at the embassy as saying that the U.S. embassy in Cambodia had fired 32 people after they were allegedly caught sharing pornographic material.

Four anonymous sources said pornographic videos and photographs, including some featuring people under the age of 18, were shared in a Facebook Messenger chat group, according to media reports.

The fired embassy workers included Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans, and many were guards and some were clerical staff.