Phnom-Penh Under Fire

Life in beleaguered Phnom-Penh was gradually returning to normal. For ten days the Cambodian capital had been spared the pounding of the Khmer Insurgents' artillery. Then suddenly, one day last week at midafternoon, captured American 105-mm. howitzers slammed 73 shells into the city in the worst attack in the history of that war.

Eight shells fell within the grounds of President Lon Nol's Chamcar Mon Palace, damaging shacks of the palace guard and killing eight. Other rounds came dangerously close to the U.S. embassy. Most of the shells impacted in a densely populated refugee area. Fanned by gusting winds, flames raced through flimsy wood-and-straw huts in a fire storm so intense that a huge pall of smoke almost blotted out Phnom-Penh's bright afternoon sun. The attack took a heavy toll: at least 140 dead, 200 wounded, more than 1,000 homes destroyed and 10,000 people homeless.

Lest Phnom-Penh's stunned residents should think that the worst was over, the Insurgents circulated leaflets warning that the shelling would continue. At week's end intelligence sources reported that Insurgent howitzers had been moved to within killing range of the capital's crowded center.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.