Road reopened in Cambodia

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33189, 31 March 1973, Page 15

Road reopened in Cambodia

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) PHNOM PENH, March 30. Cambodian Government forces have reopened the highway linking Phnom Penh to the western seaboard, the military command announced today.

■ The road was reopened late . yesterday after being occupied by unidentified Communist forces for nearly a ; week at a point 75 miles (125 ! kilometres) south-west of] > Phnom Penh. ] t The command said that 32 i Government troops and 26 i Communists were killed in > fighting for possession of the ; road. , , . The road is used by long

‘ 200-truck convoys bringing; • American military supplies! ■ and some imported rice to thel i capital from the country’s > only deep-water seaport at ’ Kompong Som. . Elsewhere, the Communists; 1 remained in control of long > stretches of the banks of the ; i Mekong River, preventing a : weekly shipping convoy from coming up to Phnom Penh > from South Vietnam, accord- ' I ing to military sources. The river was' closed temporarily despite bombing of the banks below Phnom Penh by heavy American 852 bombers and lighter tactical aircraft. i The convoy, with its vital (food supplies of fuel and mili!tary equipment was still waitring last night at the South Vietnamese city of Tan Chau, r The last two convoys have r been hit by increasing heavy ; /rocket barrages from the -Ibanks at several points, dam--I aging several foreign owned .ships. according to the 3 • sources. tl Meanwhile. Government troops with United States air •-| support are still trying to win d i back an occupied stretch of g the old Phnom Penh-Saigon y; highway which runs from the t Cambodian capital alongside n the Mekong. The command gave no dea I tails of the fighting for the -Jroad about 20 miles outside IJ the capital. e 1 * Paintings stolen n Thieves stole a group ol four paintings by the 16th !S century Italian paintei ’’ Defendene Ferrari from ar a abbey in Italy this week.— iAvacliana, March 30.