Royal Cambodian Army Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia The Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF; Khmer: ចលនាកងទ័ពសេរីជាតិកម្ពុជា, romanized: Châlônéa kângtoăp séri chéatĕ Kâmpŭchéa) is an anti-communist political and paramilitary organization that was established on 21 October 1998, by its founder, Chhun Yasith, at Poipet near the Cambodian-Thai border.
It was incorporated and registered at the Californian Secretary of State's office as a political organization in June 1999, and aims "to fight against communists to protect the interests of Cambodian people."
[4][5][6] In 24 November 2000, two attacks were registered eight people were killed and at least fourteen wounded when as many as seventy anti-government rebels stormed state offices and battled security forces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The rebels threw grenades and used AK-47's in an exchange of fire with soldiers and police outside the Ministry of Defense and Cabinet buildings, and ten men launched an assault on a military barracks approximately 15 kilometers (nine miles) west of the capital.
In its 2002 annual report on human rights practices in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch stated that another 50 CFF suspects had been arrested in September 2001 in the provinces and Phnom Penh, and that "human rights groups expressed concern that the government's response to the CFF's November 2000 attack in Phnom Penh could be used as a pretext to intimidate opposition party members, particularly as the commune election campaign began to get underway".On 22 June 2001, the Cambodian Criminal Court handed down their verdict on the Cambodian Freedom Fighters’ attack of 24 November 2000.
An Mao, Nou Saron, and three Cambodian-Americans (Richard Kiri Kim, Thong Samien, and Chhun Yasith) were sentenced to life in prison on charges of conspiring to commit terrorism.