First U.N. Peacekeeper Killed by Hostile Fire in Cambodia Battle

A Bangladeshi soldier assigned to the United Nations’ force in Cambodia became on Sunday the first U.N. peacekeeping soldier killed by hostile fire in that country.

A spokesman for the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia said the soldier was part of a Bangladeshi infantry battalion attacked Saturday night at Angkor Chum in northwestern Cambodia.

The spokesman said the attack was apparently carried out by the Maoist Khmer Rouge guerrillas, who have refused to abide by terms of an October, 1991, peace settlement for Cambodia.

The spokesman said the Bangladeshi unit came under heavy attack from mortars, automatic weapons and rockets. The Bangladeshi soldiers returned fire, and the guerrillas eventually retreated.

“There is little doubt that this assault was a deliberate attack against (the Transitional Authority),” spokesman Eric Falt said.

Last December, two Cambodian civilians working for a U.N. election unit were killed by hostile fire, but before Sunday none of the 15,000 foreign troops deployed since February, 1992, had been killed by hostile fire. A number, however, have died in accidents.

U.N. military officials have long been concerned that the Khmer Rouge could target the U.N. peacekeeping contingent in an effort to disrupt plans for U.N.-supervised elections scheduled in May.