Civilians Fleeing Guerrilla Fighting

Thousands of civilians, the families of guerrilla defectors, have fled factional clashes near Khmer Rouge rebel headquarters in the country’s north, government and opposition officials said Sunday. A military official who declined to be identified said Khmer Rouge leaders and the group’s former leader Pol Pot, currently under house arrest, were holed up on high ground near the Thai border. The government said Thursday that defecting Khmer Rouge guerrillas had seized the group’s headquarters, but the claim has been disputed by the rebels and Thai military sources monitoring developments in Cambodia.