The Khmer Rouge, organized by Pol Pot in the Cambodian jungle in the 1960s, advocated a radical Communist revolution that would wipe out Western influences in … The Khmer Rouge’s army grows to some 50,000 soldiers, many of whom joined to retaliate for the U.S. bombings. During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge communists had formed an alliance to fight U.S.-backed regimes in their respective countries. From March, 26, 1978, the Vietnamese Army shifted from defence to attack against Khmer Rouge troops, which pushed the Khmer Rouge army refrain attacks on the Vietnam-Cambodia border. 1973: The Vietnamese and Americans sign the Paris Peace Agreement. 31 of 34. 1978. The Khmer Rouge then used the same formula for execution as in Cambodia. During that time, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million A dead man, with his shirt ripped open, lies on the cold ground of Tuol Sleng. Vietnam launched an invasion of Cambodia in late December 1978 to remove Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge received support from China, Vietnam's rival to the north, while the Vietnamese were assisted by the Soviet Union, which competed with China for standing in the communist world. Assisted by China and Thailand, Khmer Rouge leaders fled and reestablished their forces in Thai territory. Khmer Rouge leaders and many of their followers fled to the Thai border where they sought refuge and continued their fight against the Vietnam-backed PRK. Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge’s formal control came to an end when Vietnam … Pol Pot was a political leader whose communist Khmer Rouge government led Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. "They pointed their weapons and ordered us to come to a meeting with … My Duc, Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge officially fell on Jan. 7, 1979, but the legacy of the regime and its genocide is still pervasive. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Vietnam offered to withdraw its forces in exchange for an end to assistance to the Khmer Rouge, while Cambodia suggested it would move its forces away from the Thai border if the Khmer Rouge … On 25 December 1978, Vietnam launched a full-scale invasion of Kampuchea and subsequently occupied the country and removed the Khmer Rouge from power. 30 of 34. Meanwhile in Phnom Penh, Vietnam helped the Salvation Front, a faction of Cambodian communists who had become dissatisfied with the Khmer Rouge, establish a new government called the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) led by Heng Samrin. A field of people massacred by the Khmer Rouge. Wikimedia Commons.