German dies in Cambodia

The death yesterday evening of a German soldier with the UN forces in Cambodia is likely to cause shockwaves in Germany, Steve Crawshaw writes from Bonn.

It is the first time that a German serving with UN forces has died, and will fuel the debate over whether Germans should participate in such missions - already, the most controversial foreign- policy issue in Germany.

There are around 140 German soldiers in Cambodia, working at a military hospital they set up there, as part of the 20,000-strong UN force in the country.