In the Cambodian civil war, a cyclo driver was killed by rocket fire and his body lay in the street, surrounded by the people.

　　In the Cambodian Civil War, a cyclo driver was killed by rocket fire and his body lay in the street, surrounded by the people. Numerous dead bodies littered the streets of Phnom Penh around April 1970 after a rocket attack on the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, which was besieged by the Khmer Rouge. The military situation worsened when the Khmer Rouge launched a massive attack on the important Cambodian army headquarters, located just 10 km northwest of Phnom Penh.

　The Cambodian Civil War broke out from the Sam Laut Uprising of March 11, 1967, which was linked to the Khmer Rouge. On one side was the government of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, supported by the United States and South Vietnam. On the other side was the Kampuchea National Unity Front, supported by North Vietnam. But U.S. support did not help in the fight against the communists: from March to July 1973 alone, some 250,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Cambodian territory. This did not help stop the communists, however, as on April 17, 1975, the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh came under Khmer Rouge rule. The leader of the Khmer Rouge was Pol Pot.

　The Khmer Rouge's main supporters were illiterate young peasants. Their hatred and revenge extended to the urban population. It gave the Khmer Rouge immense popularity among the lower classes of the population. The idea of Vietnam as an enemy was actively promoted. After the overthrow of the Khmer Republic, the Khmer Rouge were physically destroyed and shot dead by their representatives. The next step was the eviction of people from the city: on April 18, Phnom Penh residents were ordered by the Khmer Rouge to leave the city immediately. All residents were evicted from the city within 72 hours. People were stripped of all rights. Those who refused were killed as enemies. Even the difficult disabled and the elderly were murdered. Tens of thousands of residents were shot along the roads. Along the way, many died of exhaustion and hunger. on April 23, Pol Pot entered the empty capital, Phnom Penh.

　The Khmer Rouge began a revolutionary experiment to build a communist society in Cambodia. The former state was effectively liquidated. Reading and writing were forbidden except for laws and government documents. During the first year of its rule, the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot completely destroyed the economy of the previous state. The exact number of victims in Cambodia is not known. The civil war ended when the Khmer Rouge seized power. The total population of Cambodia was less than 10 million, and the death toll was estimated at about 1 million to 3 million.

　In late 1978, Vietnam began a full-scale invasion of Cambodia; Phnom Penh was occupied on February 7, 1979; by mid-1979, Vietnam had captured all of Cambodia's major cities. The Khmer Rouge turned partisan and became an important representative of the forces that had to conduct counter-guerrilla warfare throughout the 1980s. By the 1990s, however, this organization was in decline, but its remnants continue to rob the jungle.