Khmer National Armed Forces
| Khmer National Armed Forces Forces armées nationales khmères |
|
|---|---|
FANK cap badge 1970-75
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| Founded | 1970 |
| Disbanded | 1975 |
| Service branches |
Khmer Air Force Khmer National Army Khmer National Navy |
| Headquarters | Phnom Penh |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Lon Nol |
| Chief of Staff | Lt Gen. Sisowath Sirik Matak |
| Manpower | |
| Active personnel | 300,000 (at height) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
 Israel Soviet Union China Yugoslavia Australia New Zealand South Vietnam South Korea Taiwan Laos Japan Thailand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore
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| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Cambodia |
The Khmer National Armed Forces (French: Forces armées nationales khmères), often abbreviated to FANK, were the official armed defense forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia. The FANK was the successor of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces (French: Forces armées royales khmères; FARK) which had been responsible for the defense of the previous Kingdom of Cambodia since its independence in 1954 from France.
Being essentially a continuation of the old Royal armed forces under a new name, the FANK played a more partisan role in the Cambodian Civil War that escalated following the deposition as Head of State of Prince Norodom Sihanouk by a coup d’état in March 1970 orchestrated by his own Prime-Minister General Lon Nol. Though the armed forces of the Kingdom had been involved since April 1967 in the suppression of the Communist Party of Kampuchea's rebellion led by Saloth Sar (better known as Pol Pot), up until Sihanouk's overthrow it was considered to have the consensual backing of the Cambodian society, as the Prince was considered the symbol of the people.
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