It is reported that the former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has left northern Cambodia where he was reported to be under house arrest and is now living in China. The move was said to be an attempt to avoid facing an international tribunal for his crimes against humanity. However the claims have been swiftly denied by Chinese officials. Caroline Gluck reports from Phnom Penh:

According to General Nhiek Bun Chhay, the opposition commander loyal to Cambodia's ousted first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Pol Pot has left the northern Cambodian jungles and is now in China. General Nhiek Bun Chhay told the BBC that Pol Pot was sent to China to avoid having to appear before an international genocide tribunal.

However he didn't give any details as to how Pol Pot was able to leave the country. Pol Pot was allegedly sentenced to life imprisonment by his former colleagues in a videoed show trial in July, following a leadership split within the guerrilla movement.

General Nhiek Bun Chhay, who has been waging a guerrilla war against the government since July and whose troops have entered into a de facto alliance with Khmer Rouge soldiers in Anlong Veng, said he had also heard reports that the Khmer Rouge defence chief Ta Mok had held talks with a Chinese diplomat in Thailand. Both allegations have been strongly denied by a Chinese Embassy official.

Senior government officials have also denied the report, saying that opposition forces were simply trying to provoke trouble. Just a few months ago the Khmer Rouge were reported as saying that they would be prepared to hand over Pol Pot to an international tribunal.