PHNOM PENH, July b: ihe Cambodian capital was rocked by shelling and small arms fire today as fighting intensified between troops loyal to two rival prime ministers, reports Reuter.

Explosions were heard In the city centre, near the place and government buildings, a Reuters reporter said.

"It's been going on all morning." he said by telephone to Bangkok, crouched behind his desk in his office near the palace.

Loud booms could be heard over the telephone line.

The fighting, which started on Saturday, resumed at dawn. First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh accused his former battlefield enemy, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen of attempting a coup.

Poverty-stricken Cambodia's biggest aid donor. Japan, urged Hun Sen to take the lead in finding a peaceful solution

Singapore's Foreign Ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation and was in touch with Singapore residents

in Phnom Penh.

Khieu Samphan. front man to the Khmer Rouge guerillas who have been negotiating with Ranariddh, said he supported the Cambodian constitution, in effect adding support to Ranariddh as the ruling coalition unravelled.

The Cambodian Red Cross said today that there had been 52 casualties from the fighting but gave no breakdown on the number of deaths or wounded.

Communications were problematic, especially in the downtown area near the palace It was becoming increasingly difficult to get an international telephone line.

"The shelling is very loud now. as on Saturday it appears to be in heavily populated urban areas," said a Reuters reporter at the city centre.

There are many people in the streets with their belongings tied to motorbikes and carts moving through the city. It is a bit chaotic."

Most markets were closed and the few still open were

charging exorbitant prices, she sa id

The road to the airport was closed. Major airlines that normally fly into Phnom Penh announced cancellations of flights there on Saturday and said they might do the same today.

Ranariddh, who is in France, released a statement late on Saturday describing the action against his forces as a coup.

"We consider that what is currently happening in is a coup d'etat perpetuated by Hun Sen." said a statement released in Paris in the name of Ranariddh.

In a second statement issued hours later in Paris, where he was said to be visiting family. Ranariddh said he haTbecome head of Cambodia’s only legitimate government as a result of the alleged coup attempt.

Hun Sen's troops blocked main thoroughfares in Phnom Penh and armoured personnel carriers were stationed at strategic locations around the

city.

Fighting was also reported l>etween rival factions in some other parts of the country but the accounts could not be independently confirmed.

The two prime ministers head a deadlocked coalition government set up after United Natlons-run elections In 1993.

A long row over power-sharing has been inflamed by deep differences over how to deal with the divided Khmer Rouge, blamed for the deaths of one million people when they ruled in the 1970s and still armed and at large.

Ranariddh said the fighting had erupted because Hun Sen "does not want free and democratic elections scheduled for May 1998". He calledon the international community not to recognise any regime resulting from the use of force.

Ranariddh also urged Cambodia's armed forces and royal police not to follow Hun Sen and his supporters "in their illegal and criminal adventure, which puts our country in great danger."