PJQ PHOTOS

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia.  It sits on the bank of the Mekong river and is home to about 2.2 million of Cambodia's 14.8 million people.  

During the Vietnam War North Vietnam used Cambodia as a base for operations. This resulted in fighting between their own government troops, the South Vietnamese & the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge captured the city in April 1975. Immediately, they evacuated everyone from the city into forced labor farms as 'new people'.  This is when the genocide began, resulting in starvation, torture and the 'killing fields'. In 1979, the North Vietnamese drove the Khmer Rouge out of the city and people began to return to reestablish their lives.