Like a battering ram pounding an already crumbling citadel, the Khmer Rouge insurgents last week aimed new blows against the tottering Khmer Republic. On all of Cambodia's battlefields, government troops were falling back or launching unsuccessful counterattacks. Since the rebel offensive began in January, 5,000 of President Lon Nol's troops have been killed and 15,000 wounded. Rebel casualties are estimated to be higher, and civilian losses are considerable.
The most intense insurgent pressure remains concentrated against besieged Phnom-Penh. With the Mekong River lifeline choked off, the capital is now solely dependent...
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