409:, the KPNLF reportedly lost nearly a third of its 12,000 to 15,000 troops in battle and through desertions. This setback, which was blamed on Son Sann for his alleged meddling in military matters (particularly his unwillingness to cooperate with Sihanouk's forces), aggravated long-standing conflicts within the KPNLF. In December 1985 several KPNLF leaders announced the formation of a Provisional Central Committee of Salvation, which would be the new executive body of the KPNLF. Key members of the group included General
423:. He said, however, that General Sak would remain as Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Military Command, which was launched in January 1986 reportedly as a concession to the dissident group. Under a compromise worked out through a third party, General Sak regained his control of the armed forces in March 1986. In July General Dien retired temporarily to a monastery.
287:. Also during this time he was involved in the evacuation of Cambodian forces from positions along National Route 19 to Vietnam with the help of American troops. In 1971 he was elevated to the rank of colonel in command of the 2nd Group, which consisted of the 2nd Brigade and two other brigades. His unit was involved in the disastrous
426:
After shedding his monk's robes in late 1986, General Dien continued as deputy commander-in-chief, directing combat operations against the
Vietnamese until their withdrawal from Cambodia in 1990. General Dien presided over the demobilization of the KPNLF's armed forces in February 1992, after which
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saw him in combat on several occasions and admired his appearance of calm control: "General Dien Del, perhaps best general, a man with a merry sparkle in his eyes…strutted up and down in his tiger suit, pistol at his hip, saying he would fight to the last."
265:, France. He returned to Cambodia in 1961 and assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Headquarters G-1. In 1962 he joined the Royal Armed Forces General Staff, and in 1964 he was promoted to major and became commander of the 24th Intervention Battalion.
396:
arrived in
Thailand from the United States. Minister of Defense under Sihanouk, he had been Head of State of the Khmer Republic during its final days and had a reputation for decisiveness and incorruptibility that lent legitimacy to the KPNLF.
225:
occupation (1979–1992). Following
Vietnam's withdrawal from Cambodia in 1990, he presided over the demobilization of the KPNLF's armed forces in February 1992. In 1998 he was elected to the National Legislative Assembly as a member of
443:. In 2000 Dien Del became chairman of the National Assembly's Interior, National Defence, Investigation, and Suppression Commission. For over fifteen years, he exercised a prominent role as an advisor to the
480:
Colonel Jim Morris found him a savvy tactician when observing
General Dien's operations during the 1985 Vietnamese assault: "Dien Del wisely used his main force units to defend KPNLF settlements."
701:
Corfield J.J. "A History of the
Cambodian Non-Communist Resistance, 1975–1983." Clayton, Vic., Australia: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1991
250:
from 1946 to 1952, then entered military service in the French colonial
Cambodian Army. From 1953 to 1956 he was a company commander in the 6th Battalion at
519:
Information supplied by
General Dien Del himself during an interview with the Cambodia Oral History Project on August 22, 1994. Transcript available at The
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As an officer and a leader, General Dien commanded respect from his superiors, his colleagues, his subordinates, and many other observers. Journalists
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In May 1977 he flew to Paris and helped to organize a political group in cooperation with non-communist resistance forces under former Prime
Minister
258:(FARK) Headquarters G-1 Office. He studied at the Royal Military Academy in 1957–58, and returned to headquarters as the deputy chief of G-1.
376:, persuading local leaders to join forces. By mid-1979 the KPNLAF consisted of about 1,600 soldiers. On 9 October 1979 this group became the
710:
Abdul Gaffar Peang Meth, "A Study of the Khmer People's
National Liberation Front and the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea",
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303:. He returned to Cambodia in January 1972 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in command of the 2nd Division. Journalist
315:, seeing the heads of Khmer Rouge soldiers on stakes along the road. Dien Del told her that beheading was practiced by both sides.
209:(1932 – February 13, 2013) was a prominent Cambodian military officer and later, politician. He directed combat operations in
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Radio reported that on 20 February he was "severely injured" in combat at Dei Eth. In April he took charge of the defense of
392:
In
January 1981 General Dien established an officer training program at Ban Sangae Refugee Camp. Shortly after this General
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Sebastian Strangio, "Revisiting Lon Nol’s Cambodia: A look back at Lon Nol’s ill-fated gamble on democracy in Cambodia,"
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Dien Del died in a hospital in Phnom Penh on February 13, 2013. His body was cremated at the Tuek Thla Pagoda in
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General Staff, and in 1998 he was elected to the National Legislative Assembly as a member of
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Son Sann countered with the formation of a new military command committee under General
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In May 1974 he was appointed Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces in
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From 1959 to 1960 he attended a French military administration school at
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A Tribute by General Dien Del by Abdul Gaffar Peang-Meth, 18 Feb 2013
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283:(FANK) and assumed the command of the 2nd Brigade at Prey Sar near
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Guerrilla resistance against the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia
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You Don't Belong Here How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
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KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA, LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF 26 JULY 1998
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Province in 1971. After this he was sent to study at the
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family in 1932 at Sóc Trăng. He attended the prestigious
817:"Cambodia’s General Dien Del passed away at age of 81,"
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Cambodia Oral History Project interview transcript, The
254:. He came to Phnom Penh in 1957 and was a member of the
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Division; Governor and Commander of Territorial Forces,
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In 1970 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the
731:. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987.
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Cambodia Oral History Project, August 22, 1994, p. 2
338:on 17 April, he flew out on the last helicopter to
435:In 1994 he was appointed Inspector General of the
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836:. 1st ed. New York: Arcade Pub., 1998, pp. 64-5.
790:Television Kampuchea, Phnom Penh - May 26, 2000.
557:The Khmer Republic at War and the Final Collapse
370:Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces
330:, the main entrance into Phnom Penh across the
307:later described a visit to his headquarters on
354:Role in the formation of the KPNLF (1977–1979)
221:(KPNLF) guerrilla forces fighting against the
200:, Montpelier School of Military Administration
58:Dien Del in Kien Svay, Cambodia, January 2008
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927:Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia)
851:. Canton, Ohio: Daring Books, 1989, p. 167.
401:Power struggle within the KPNLF (1985–1986)
766:"Cambodians Hand Over Weapons to the UN,"
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632:Transcript available at The
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753:"Ordained: Gen. Dien Del."
742:Far Eastern Economic Review
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663:London: Heinemann, 1995
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223:Vietnamese
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568:See also
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309:Highway 4
228:FUNCINPEC
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755:Asiaweek
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527:Archived
382:Son Sann
366:Son Sann
344:Thailand
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