A wild shootout in Phnom Penh Nov. 24 killed eight and represented the worst violence in the capital since Hun Sen drove Prince Norodom Ranariddh out of a power sharing arrangement in 1997. A group of about 20 anti-government rebels attacked government buildings with heavy weapons before being driven off. The attack was blamed on an anti-Communist group allegedly based in the U.S., and the government has asked the U.S. government to extradite the group’s suspected leader. Cambodia is enjoying its first relative peace in 30 years, but arms of all sorts are everywhere and easy to obtain after decades of war. On average, three people a day are killed with firearms here.
