Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ; French for "Red Khmer") was a Stalinist, Maoist militant group in Cambodia. They took over the capital, Phnom Penh, on 17 April 1975. It was led by Pol Pot, who was called Saloth Sar before the take-over. They named the country Democratic Kampuchea. They immediately forced everyone out of the cities, effectively turning the whole country into a giant labor camp. They were defeated by the Vietnamese in January 1979. During the Khmer Rouge Years, many people were killed in a genocide comparable to the Holocaust. The exact number of people killed is unknown. Figures range from about 700,000 to about three million. Most people give figures between 1.4 million and 2.2 million, which would be 20-30% of the population of Cambodia, at the time. The international community continued to recognize the Khmer Rouge as the government of Kampuchea for a decade after they were defeated. Therefore, the Khmer Rouge held a seat in the United Nations until 1989.