Chong Chom - Fresh clashes broke out in Cambodia yesterday as troops loyal to the man who seized power there, Mr Hun Sen, tried to take the last bastion held by royalist forces but were pushed back after heavy fighting near Chong Chom, on the Thai border.
The latest bout of prolonged artillery fire came just hours after forces of the ousted First Premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, pushed back Mr Hun Sen's forces from the edges of their hilltop stronghold at O Smach in the north-west. But the royalists' celebration after reclaiming territory was short-lived as Mr Hun Sen's troops opened up on the bastion with heavy weapons late yesterday.