Vietnamese Troops Storm Key Cambodia Rebel Base

Vietnamese troops led by Soviet-built tanks stormed a key Cambodian rebel base today, breaking through outer defense lines on the sixth anniversary of Vietnam’s military takeover of Cambodia.

The fighting, described by military sources in Thailand as the heaviest of Hanoi’s dry season offensive, spread to other guerrilla bases along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Field radio reports from the rebels of the Khmer Peoples National Liberation Front at Ampil in Cambodia indicated that Vietnamese troops launching a long-expected assault were able to penetrate outer defense lines at the base near the Thai border.

But the reports said a second line of defense held firm in most areas, and Cambodian rebels still controlled all but a small section of the sprawling Ampil headquarters.

Casualties were heavy in the daylong fighting, and the Red Cross called for extra help in treating the wounded at nearby refugee camps.

The fighting began before dawn when the estimated 5,000 guerrillas at Ampil launched a preemptive mortar strike on Vietnamese forces massed for the attack on Ampil.

The guerrilla barrage triggered heavy Vietnamese shelling of Ampil, and Thai military sources said shells falling into Thailand forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from five border villages.