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Following a five-year struggle, Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in April 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1.5 million displaced people died from execution, enforced hardships, or starvation. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off almost 13 years of civil war. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a ceasefire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy and the final elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The July 2003 elections were relatively peaceful, but negotiations among contending political parties have yet to yield a new coalition government.
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Country
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Surface Area: 181,040 square km
Population: 13,363,421 estimates (July 2004 est.)
Located in: Southeastern Asia
Capital City: Phnom Penh
Head of State: King NORODOM Sihanouk
Prime Minister: HUN Sen
Independent since: 9 November 1953 (from France)
Currency: Riel (KHR)
Flag (image): 
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