Cambodia, 1978 — foreign-backed coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 25 June 1978, corresponding to the Eastern Zone uprising and purge in Democratic Kampuchea, in which So Phim, the pro-Vietnamese commander of the Khmer Rouge Eastern Zone, was suspected by Pol Pot of plotting a Vietnam-backed rebellion. The Eastern Zone, bordering Vietnam, was run by cadres more closely connected to Hanoi than to the Party Center, and its uniforms and conduct set it apart from Pol Pot's loyalists. As border war with Vietnam intensified, Vietnamese officials conducted secret meetings with So Phim to plan a military uprising, and after eastern-zone troops failed to resist Vietnamese incursions, Pol Pot labeled the region a nest of traitors.
From January 1978 the Center purged the Eastern Zone, sending cadres to Tuol Sleng and killing or replacing commanders through the spring. So Phim, summoned to a meeting and realizing it was a trap, went into hiding and committed suicide on 3 June 1978 as Center forces encircled him; his family was killed. The purge escalated into mass killings across the zone.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
81106251978
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Pol Pot crushed the Eastern Zone and So Phim; the surviving cadres fled to Vietnam and later helped overthrow the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
The Globe and Mail
The Guardian
The Sun
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →