Vietnam returns remains of Cambodian war allies

The Ministry of National Defense held a ceremony in the southern border province of Binh Phuoc on Thursday to hand over the remains of Cambodian soldiers who gave their lives ousting the Khmer Rouge.

All of remains were from members of Combat Unit 125, formed in Dong Nai Province in 1978 to fight Pot’s ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, which began a reign of terror in 1975 that left two million Cambodians dead of starvation, hard labor, torture, and mass executions.

The genocide, led by Pol Pot, initiated a reign of terror in 1975 that left two million Cambodians dead from starvation, hard labor, torture and mass executions.

The combat unit had been led by current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Together with the support of their Vietnamese allies, they fought Khmer Rouge along the blood-soaked borderlands between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Khmer Rouge forces killed tens of thousands of Vietnamese during their incursions, forcing the Vietnamese government to act when Cambodian freedom fighters asked for help.

Vietnamese soldiers marched into Phnom Penh in 1979 during a counter-offensive launched from the southwestern border. The Cambodian capital was liberated of Khmer Rouge control on January 7 that year.

Attending the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Do Can, Vice Chairman of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army, said the 49 soldiers had been buried in Dong Nai.

Vietnam designated the Combat Unit 125 Cemetery a national historical relic in 2002.

Receiving the soldiers’ remains, General Sao Sokha, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Gendarmerie, expressed appreciation on behalf of his country.

He said Vietnam’s deeds had demonstrated the solidarity and friendship between the armies and peoples of the two nations.