17 January 1979

“Although we don’t like the Pol Pot regime, I’m not certain that any new regime will be any better for the Cambodian people,” says Robert Oakley, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific on Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia

As Chinese technicians reported from Chhup that there is “basically no more Khmer Rouge army”, China flies out Sihanouk & 100 Chinese experts, as well as group of hapless Chinese acrobats who had been touring Cambodia in its weekly flight from Phnom Penh.

Thai PM Kriangsak urges: “I know that Mr Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General of @UN is scheduled to visit PhnomPenh. He should speed up his trip in order to study the situation and ease the tension.”

Khmer Rouge Nr.2 Khieu Samphan instructs Duch, Head of S-21, not to panic & continue working as usual because KR forces were defending against the Vietnamese. Earlier Nuon Chea had instructed Duch to smash all remaining prisoners without delay.

After blanketing the entire opposite shoreline of the Mekong with artillery fire,Vietnamese General Kim Tuan decides to overwhelm the Khmer Rouge defenders with sheer firepower, using assault boats, ferries & amphibious tanks. By 8:30 they captured Kompong Cham City https://t.co/YkdaVThx3j