Sihanouk ends UN co-operation

PHNOM PENH (Reuter) - Cambodia's leader, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, said yesterday that he was ceasing co-operation with United Nations peace-keepers and the Phnom Penh government, dealing a blow to the hamstrung peace mission.

In a letter Prince Sihanouk said he was taking the step because of violence against the party loyal to him and the UN's failure to stop it. The letter, to Yasushi Akashi, head of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, made no mention of the Khmer Rouge, the Prince's former allies widely considered to be blocking the peace process.

Prince Sihanouk, the former monarch, resigned and returned many times as head of the Khmer Rouge-dominated alliance that fought the Phnom Penh government for 13 years.