USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In April 1974, Sihanouk and Khmer Rouge leaders Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan met with Mao in Beijing; Mao supported many of the policies proposed by the Khmer Rouge, but he did not want the Khmer Rouge to marginalize Sihanouk after they won the civil war and established a new Cambodia.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1960, a small group of Cambodians, led by Saloth Sar (later known as Pol Pot) and Nuon Chea, secretly formed the Communist Party of Kampuchea. This movement would become known as the Khmer Rouge, or “Red Khmers.”

Detailed explanation-3: -After Lon Nol ousted Sihanouk in a 1970 coup, Pol Pot’s forces sided with the deposed leader against the new government, which was bolstered by the United States military. Aided by the Việt Cộng militia and North Vietnamese troops, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge forces advanced and controlled all of Cambodia by 1975.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Khmer Rouge government was overthrown in 1979 by invading Vietnamese troops, who installed a puppet government propped up by Vietnamese aid and expertise.

Detailed explanation-5: -On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops seize the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, toppling the brutal regime of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge.