SUMMARY
Military faction (Forces of Hun Sen) was an armed group active in the Cambodian conflict over government. In 1991, the so-called “Paris Agreement” – intended to end Cambodia’s decades-long intrastate conflict - was signed between the Government of Cambodia and the tree rebel groups FUNCIPEC, KPNLF, and KR (Khmer Rouge). While KR reneged on the agreement, the two other rebel factions entered into a power sharing arrangement with the government – which had been controlled by the Cambodian Peoples’ Party (CPP) since 1979 - and subsequently participated in the 1993 elections. FUNCIPEC, led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, secured the most votes in the election, followed by Hun Sen’s CPP that became the second largest party. FUNCIPEC and CPP then proceeded to create a coalition government, with Prince Ranariddh as First Prime Minister, and Hun Sen as Second Prime Minister. Despite this, political tensions remained high in Cambodia, and in 1997, there was a rapid deterioration in FUNCIPEC-CPP relations. A particularly prominent point of contention was efforts by both parties to attract support from KR factions – moves that would bolster their relative power positions - that had begun defecting from Pol Pot’s organization. The tensions between CPP and FUNCIPEC even led to open, armed confrontations between the two parties; it was in this context that Military faction (Forces of Sun Sen) emerged. Given the clandestine nature of military coups, Hun Sen’s forces did not publicly announce their goals prior to the initiation of hostilities. However, in the aftermath of the fighting, it became clear that the group’s objective had been to remove First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh from his position, and to cement Hun Sen’s hold on government power. Hun Sen claimed in a radio statement after the coup that Prince Ranariddh was a "traitor and a thief", and that he no longer held the position of First Prime Minister.
During the coup on 5-6 July, UCDP considered the forces loyal to Hun Sen as a non-state actor, as they constituted the actor that sought to alter the political status quo by removing Prince Ranariddh from his post. Hun Sen’s forces was comprised of troops belonging to the Cambodian Peoples’ Party (CPP), even if the party as a whole appeared not to have approved of using military force against Prince Ranariddh. In fact, as tensions between CPP and FUNCIPEC escalated during the first half of 1997 important CPP officials – including party President Chea Sim, Interior Minister Sar Kheng, Defense Minister Tea Banh, and head of the armed forces Ke Kim Yan – refused to support an armed attack against Prince Ranariddh and his loyalists. Consequently, a large share of CPP’s forces were never mobilized to support Hun Sen. Nevertheless, Hun Sen had been able to accrue the support of senior figures like Kun Kim, Mol Roeup, Sao Sokha, and Hok Lon Dy. The core of Hun Sen’s armed forces was his personal bodyguard, a 1200-1500 strong force led by Nat Saveun. The group also included interior police forces led by Hok Lon Dy, military police led by Keam Savuth, and ex-KR fighters commanded by Keo Pong and Pon Pheap. The total numerical strength of Hun Sen’s forces was not clear, but the group had access to heavy weapons, including tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs).
Hun Sen’s forces successfully defeated their opponents, and took full control over the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on 6 July. As such, the group effectively became the Government of Cambodia from 7 July, and thus ceased to exist as a separate non-state actor in the UCDP data.
