| 2000 Cambodian coup d'état attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of CambodiaRoyal Cambodian Armed ForcesCambodian National Police | Cambodian Freedom Fighters Dissenting members ofRoyal Cambodian Armed Forces | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Hun SenTea Banh | Chhun Yasith | ||||||
On 24 November 2000, theCambodian Freedom Fighters unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow thegovernment of Cambodia in a failedcoup d'état. In what the group termed the "Operation Volcano" plot,[1] dozens of rebels attacked government buildings inPhnom Penh in an attempt to deposeHun Sen's government.[2]
The Cambodian Freedom Fighters leaderChhun Yasith, a naturalised American citizen and former Cambodian refugee, traveled from his home in California to theThai–Cambodian border in 1998 to meet with members of theRoyal Cambodian Armed Forces who opposed Hun Sen[3] and with formerKhmer Rouge members to organise the plot.[1] Chhun worked to raise funds in America, including aboard theQueen Mary,[1] while conspirators in Cambodia provided weapons.[3] Chhun organized the attack from a location in Thailand.[1] The group planned to strike 291 targets and were able to raise US$50,000.[4]
On the morning of 24 November, around 100 armed individuals attacked theMinistry of Defence and the national police building. Authorities halted the attack before it reached the prime minister's residence. Thirty-eight conspirators, including two American citizens, were arrested.[3] Hun Sen was attending anASEAN Summit overseas and was not in the country.[5] At least four people died and several dozen were wounded.[1] The attacks did minimal damage and were defeated within a few hours.[4] Chhun himself remained at the Thai border, intending to lead a new government if the coup was successful.[3] Government spokespersonKhieu Kanharith described the attacks asterrorism and did not use the word coup.[5]
The Cambodian government convicted 38 people, including 2 American citizens, for the attack. Chhun was sentencedin absentia. He was later investigated in the United States and was arrested in June 2005 in connection with the violence.[1] He was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010.[3] In 2010, Hun Sen suggested that the oppositionSam Rainsy Party had had a role in the attempted coup.[6]
Plots and conspiracies (List) | |
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| Before the 16th century | |
| 16th century | |
| 17th century | |
| 18th century | |
| 19th century | |
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| 21st century |
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See also:  Coup d'état | |