Expanding Khmer Rouge trials could spark war: PM

Cambodia's strongman Prime Minister yesterday warned that prosecuting more Khmer Rouge suspects in the country's UN-backed genocide court could ignite a civil war.

Hun Sen, himself a former low-level commander in the brutal communist regime, said the prosecution of officials "almost goes too far" and could start a new conflict in his country.

The Khmer Rouge massacred up to two million of its own people in the late 1970s. So far only three people have been convicted by the court.

Prosecutors are currently investigating two possible new cases against several lower-ranking cadres, a move which is strongly opposed by Hun Sen, who marked three decades in power last month.

"The expansion of the scope (for more cases) almost makes people return to the jungle," Hun Sen said during remarks at a conference in the capital Phnom Penh.

"If war reoccurs, how many people would die?" he asked, adding that "the value of peace, the value of lives" must be considered above seeking justice.

Critics have said there is no risk of renewed fighting since the country's civil war ended in 1998.

They have also accused Hun Sen's administration of trying to protect former regime members who are now in government.