Briton Reportedly Executed by Rebels

A Briton kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge has been executed during a mutiny in the rebel group, a Thai newspaper reported. Diplomats and government officials here refused to comment on the Bangkok Post story, described by Britain’s Foreign Office as “the most serious report” so far that mine-clearing expert Christopher Howes was no longer alive. Howes, 36, of Bristol, England, worked for the Mines Advisory Group, an organization helping clear the millions of mines left over from decades of civil war. The Bangkok Post said Howes, captured in March, was killed at the headquarters of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot in Anlong Veng, a rebel stronghold. It cited an unidentified officer of Pol Pot’s hard-line faction.