Khmer Rouge’s Exit Raises Fears of Cambodia Strife
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The Khmer Rouge guerrillas apparently broke with Cambodia’s peace process Tuesday, U.N. officials said, raising fears that months of mounting tensions will reignite civil war.
They said that all Khmer Rouge officials in the capital appeared to have left Tuesday and that the group sent a letter of withdrawal to U.N. officials.
The officials, who declined to be named, said the letter did not indicate whether the Khmer Rouge was severing all relations with the U.N. mission that has been trying to implement a cease-fire and hold elections next month under a 1991 peace accord.
Relations between the guerrillas and the United Nations have grown worse over the past year, feeding fears that full-scale war could resume. U.N. officials have blamed the Khmer Rouge for several recent attacks on U.N. personnel. The rebels denied responsibility.
The U.N. officials said the Khmer Rouge personnel apparently flew to Bangkok, Thailand. From there they could go by land to Khmer Rouge territory in northwestern Cambodia.
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