Khmer Rouge (Noun)
Meaning
A communist organization formed in Cambodia in 1970; became a terrorist organization in 1975 when it captured Phnom Penh and created a government that killed an estimated three million people; was defeated by Vietnamese troops but remained active until 1999.
Classification
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects.
Examples
- The Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the most brutal genocides of the 20th century, killing an estimated 25% of Cambodia's population.
- In 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and established a radical communist regime that lasted for four years.
- The Khmer Rouge's policies of forced labor, mass executions, and forced relocation led to the deaths of millions of people.
- After being ousted from power in 1979, the Khmer Rouge continued to wage a guerrilla war against the Vietnamese-backed government.
- In 1999, the last remnants of the Khmer Rouge surrendered to the Cambodian government, marking the end of the organization's 29-year reign of terror.