PHNOM PENH (AP)-The Khmer Rouge accused U.N. officials last week of stalling an investigation

into the shooting death of one of their guerrilla leaders and vowed revenge, a U.N.

spokesman said.

San Bouen, a well-known Khmer Rouge leader in Sandan village, was hunted down by

17 government soldiers and shot in the back of the head on Aug. 1, said spokesman

Eric Falt. The soldiers, he said, claimed they were acting on orders from their commanders.

U.N. military observers in the area, about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of the

town Kratie, received two letters on Aug. 17 accusing them of inaction and warning

of retaliation against government troops, Falt said.

"They threatened to take revenge themselves," he said. "It could mean

confrontation in that area."

Kratie, which is 160 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh, is primarily under Phnom

Penh government control, Falt said.

Falt said investigators already had learned that the Khmer Rouge leader apparently

knew he was being targeted because he was hiding out in the forest near Sandan village.

When the government soldiers took San Bouen's wife hostage, the Khmer Rouge leader

gave himself up and was shot, he said.

However, said Falt, U.N. officials are still investigating and in the meantime the

U.N. military observers in that area would try to ease the situation.