Cambodia Factions Engage In Gunbattle

The feud between Cambodia’s co-rulers erupted Tuesday into a bloody gunbattle between bodyguards loyal to each side, heightening fears in an already tense capital.

With the whereabouts of Khmer Rouge guerrilla leader Pol Pot still a mystery, the violence could threaten a coalition government that has been unstable since the United Nations pieced it together in 1993 after years of genocide and civil war.

Assault rifle shots and explosions from grenades and rocket launchers rang out in central Phnom Penh as the bodyguards of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh traded fire with police loyal to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen.

About 100 police armed with AK-47s surrounded the prince’s heavily guarded compound. At least one of Ranariddh’s men was killed. Two blocks away, a rocket or grenade exploded inside the walled residence of U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Quinn. The blast blew apart a cement bench 2 feet from the servants’ quarters, Quinn said. No one was injured.