The genocide in Cambodia, which took place between April 1975 and January 1979, is historically placed in the context of the end of the war in Vietnam and the removal of the United States both from their South Vietnamese allies and from the "friendly" government of Lon Nol in Cambodia.
On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot entered the capital Phnom Penh, starting a regime and a purge process that will cause over 1,500,000 deaths.