Accused Khmer mass murderer may have fled

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, July 13 (UPI) -- One of the main accused in the killings of 2 million people in Cambodia, reportedly has left his home as the country prepares to try the mass killers.

Britain's Independent newspaper reports Khieu Samphan, who headed the Khmer Rouge that took over the country in 1975, was seen Tuesday leaving his home in northwestern Cambodia in a truck packed with household goods. The report said his children, however, denied he was "running away" from the U.N.-backed trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity.

Khieu Samphan, who is 75 and in frail health, reportedly disappeared a day after prosecutors began collecting evidence for the long-awaited trial. The trial is expected to begin next year.

Among those expected to be tried at the start are Ta Mok and Khaing Khev Iek, who ran Phnom Penh's main detention center. Pol Pot, regarded as the most ruthless of the killers, died in 1998.

The Independent said Khieu Samphan's daughter Rattana would not say why her father had left but said he and his wife had arrived in Battambang, about 50 miles from their home and that "He's not running anywhere." But a son said his parents were staying with him in a one-time Khmer Rouge hideout on the Thai border.