Khmer Rouge, Viet troops fight near Thai border

Thai and Western military officials said they did not think fighting between Khmer Rouge guerrillas and Vietnamese troops near the border with Thailand marked the beginning of a major dry season offensive in Kampuchea (Cambodia).

Skirmishing has been taking place near rebel strongholds south of the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet. A Thai military official said: ''The fighting is not on a scale that would worry us.''

A Thai military spokesman said Vietnamese forces launched a major dry season offensive early this week but bogged down in the Phnom Malai area when Khmer Rouge forces counterattacked.