Part 4/9:
By 1970, the political climate had shifted dramatically. In a coup potentially backed by the U.S., Sihanouk was overthrown by General Lon Nol, who immediately found his government embroiled in violence and instability. The new regime’s attempts to eradicate the Viet Cong from Cambodian territory sparked widespread paranoia and violence against the Vietnamese ethnic population, further complicating the nation’s already fraught relationship with neighboring Vietnam.