Cambodian Genocide: The Killing Fields
Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot systematically killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians — approximately 25 percent of the country's population — in what became known as the Cambodian Genocide. The killings took place at execution sites journalist Sydney Schanberg and survivor Dith Pran would later call the 'Killing Fields.' Targets were vast: ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Cham Muslims; Buddhist monks; intellectuals (defined broadly as anyone wearing glasses); professionals; and former government employees. Urban populations were force-marched to agricultural labour camps; food was deliberately withheld. By 1977-78 Pol Pot's security apparatus S-21 (Tuol Sleng) was also torturing and killing senior Khmer Rouge officials on charges of treason. The genocide ended only when Vietnamese forces invaded in January 1979. International acknowledgment was delayed by Cold War politics — the US and China continued recognizing the Khmer Rouge as Cambodia's legitimate government after 1979.
- Year: 1975 CE
- Category: Atrocity
