Word: phnom-penh
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...years. It may have come from a perspective that only a military man could adopt wholeheartedly, but Moorer's assessment was bracing nonetheless. Said one aide, "He didn't mean there weren't some people getting shot in Northern Ireland or that the shelling of Phnom-Penh couldn't resume. But in organized military operations, nothing was happening." The peace was brief. Last week government forces overran three insurgent positions south of Phnom-Penh, heavy air and artillery attacks took place near the Plain of Reeds in South Viet Nam, and thousands of soldiers mutinied...
Although Insurgent troops so far have been kept out of the capital and have lost 2,000 men, they are still strong enough to maintain fierce pressure on the city. At least 74 battalions (strength: 300 men each) are deployed in the Phnom-Penh area, and they control every major highway leading into the city...
...rebel forces are supported by nearly 1,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong advisers and they possess an impressive arsenal. While Hanoi provides most of this equipment, some diplomats in Phnom-Penh suspect that the Insurgents have still another source of supply -government officials and military officers who make a quick profit by selling the guerrillas American ammunition...
Despite the shattering impact of the Insurgents' rocket and artillery assaults on Phnom-Penh, the fighting around the capital is basically deadlocked. Although Lon Nol has no realistic hope of driving the attackers away from his capital's doors, the Insurgents seem incapable of capturing the city before August, when the monsoon will force the suspension of most military activity...
...hope that the Insurgents will eventually tire of fighting and agree to negotiate a truce. Western diplomats in Phnom-Penh, however, note no evidence that any of the guerrilla military leaders are inclined to talk. Instead, the rebels may simply pull back with the rains and resume their attack on the capital with the next dry season...