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Cambodian forces take royalist stronghold

August 24, 1997
Web posted at: 2:29 p.m. EDT (1829 GMT)

CHONG CHOM PASS, Thailand (CNN) -- Cambodian forces loyal to co-Prime Minister Hun Sen Sunday overran O'Smach, the last frontier town of forces fighting for ousted co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh , witnesses said.

They said that a small group of Ranariddh soldiers abandoned their last position close to the Thai border before sunset Sunday, apparently heading for Anlong Veng, stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, who are also fighting Hun Sen.

I N   C O N T E X T
Before a July coup led by Hun Sen, Cambodia's two co-prime ministers headed an uneasy coalition government, which emerged after U.N.-sponsored elections in 1993.

Thai military officials and witnesses earlier said that most of Ranariddh's troops had retreated and were scattered in the jungle after nearly a week of heavy fighting for control of the town.

The fall of O'Smach came after several hours of intense, close-range fighting. One witness was quoted as saying that he heard thousands of rounds of gunfire and mortar shelling exchanged between the two sides.

Tens of thousands of Cambodians fled O'Smach through Chong Chom Pass into Thailand last week to escape the fighting, which came ever closer to their refugee camps as Hun Sen's forces steadily advanced towards the border.

Cambodian officials have assured Thailand's Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh that the estimated 35,000 refugees will not be mistreated if they return to Cambodia.

However, human rights organizations have said that several supporters of Ranariddh's royalist party had been killed.

Those apparent reprisals came after Hun Sen ousted Ranariddh in a violent coup in the capital Phnom Penh at the beginning of July.

Hun Sen sought to justify his coup by accusing Ranariddh of illegally bringing rebel Khmer Rouge troops into Phnom Penh.

However, Ranariddh denied the allegations and said the Khmer Rouge -- held responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people under the regime of its notorious leader Pol Pot -- was no longer the same movement as before.

Cambodia watchers say that both Hun Sen and Ranariddh have tried to win the support of dissident Khmer Rouge leaders, after thousands of former guerrillas laid down their weapons and joined the government side.

Correspondent Tom Mintier and Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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  • ASEAN - the official website of the Association of South East Asian Nations
  • Cambodian Information Center - includies Cambodian news and photos, academic papers on Cambodia, and homepage links
  • Embassy of Cambodia - site of the Chancery of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the United States located in Washington, D.C.
  • Beauty and Darkness: Cambodia in Modern History - documents, essays, oral histories, and photos relating to the recent history of Cambodia, with an emphasis on the Khmer Rouge period

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