PHNOM PENH, July 6: The Cambodian capital was rocked by shelling and small arms fire today as fighting intensified between troops loyal to two rival Prime Ministers.

Explosions were heard in the City Centre, near the palace and government buildings. The fighting, which started yesterday, 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.

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

Sustained shelling could be heard coming from the vicinity of the well-fortified compound close to City Centre where top generals and officials loyal to Ranariddh live.

The area was the scene of fighting between the two sides yesterday when at least four people were killed and 20 wounded.

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.Communication was difficult, especially in the downtown area near the palace. The road to the airport was closed. Major airlines that normally fly into Phnom Penh announced cancellations of flights there yesterday and said they might do the same today.

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

``We consider that what is currently happening in Phnom Penh 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 had become 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.The two Prime Ministers head a deadlocked coalition government set up after United Nations-run elections in 1993.

Ranariddh said the fighting had erupted because Hun Sen ``does not want free and democratic elections scheduled for May 1998''. He called on the international community not to recognise any regime resulting from the use of force. Meanwhile, thousands of Cambodians fled central Phnom Penh today as casualty toll grew from fierce street battles in the capital. Boats were pressed into service along Sisowath Quay, which runs parallel to the Tonle Bassac river in the heart of the city, to ferry refugees away from chaos in the streets.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.