U.N. Officials in Cambodia Decry Gunmen’s Fatal Attack

U.N. officials on Wednesday condemned the latest threat to the fragile peace process here: the killing of two U.N. employees and the wounding of two unarmed U.N. police in an attack in which up to 40 gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles at a U.N. election tent and four U.N. houses.

“This murder of unarmed and sleeping civilians is a cowardly and disgraceful act,” Yasushi Akashi, head of the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia, said in a statement. “If it was intended to disrupt (U.N.) preparations for (Cambodian) elections, it will fail.”

The attack took place shortly after midnight in Ang Kron village, about 10 miles east of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap province in north-central Cambodia. A 7-year-old Cambodian girl also was killed, and a 70-year-old man was injured.

The slain U.N. employees, both Cambodian women, were the first killed in hostile action in Cambodia in the 10 months since one of the largest, most expensive U.N. peacekeeping operations began here under the 1991 Paris peace accords. About 23 others have died in accidents and from natural causes.

“This is a very significant attack,” said Eric Falt, spokesman for the 22,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force.

U.N. election teams have registered more than 4.5 million of Cambodia’s 5 million eligible voters for national elections by the end of May for a new president and constituent assembly. The impoverished country has been racked by war for more than two decades.

The identity of the attackers and their motive remained unclear Wednesday. None apparently wore uniforms, but Falt said in an evening news conference that a deliberate attack by one of Cambodia’s armed factions has not been ruled out. The central Siem Reap area is ostensibly controlled by troops from the Vietnamese-backed government in Phnom Penh.

Officials were investigating conflicting reports from the scene indicating that a personal dispute, bandits or tension with area authorities over housing and treatment of local women may have played a role.