CAMBODIA: FIGHTING CONTINUES AROUND SIEM REAP PROVINCE

(12 Jul 1997) Natural Sound The heavy pounding of artillery echoed through northwest Cambodia on Saturday as soldiers loyal to the country’s new self declared leader faced stiff resistance. In Siem Reap province Hun Sen’s soldiers are fighting Khmer Rouge rebels who’ve allied themselves to his arch rival and the man he ousted from power, Norodom Ranariddh. Siem Reap, the Cambodian province which is home to the famous Angkor temples, was the scene of intense military activity on Saturday - evidence that Hun Sen’s grip on power is far from certain in the countryside far from Phnom Penh. In this north west corner of the country Hun Sen’s troops are facing an alliance of Khmer Rouge rebels and forces still loyal to the ousted premier, Norodom Ranariddh. From the tiny airfield outside Siem Reap city, mortar rounds could be heard in the distance in a fierce battle near the town of Prey Chup, where Hun Sen’s forces sent opposition troops