2000 Cambodian coup d'état attempt

On 24 November 2000, the Cambodian Freedom Fighters unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the government of Cambodia in a failed coup d'état attempt. In what the group termed the "Operation Volcano" plot, dozens of rebels attacked government buildings in Phnom Penh in an attempt to depose Hun Sen's government.

Planning
The Cambodian Freedom Fighters leader Chhun Yasith, a naturalised American citizen and former Cambodian refugee, travelled from his home in California to the Thai-Cambodian border in 1998 to meet with members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces who opposed Hun Sen and with former Khmer Rouge members to organise the plot. Chhun worked to raise funds in America, including aboard the Queen Mary, whilst conspirators in Cambodia provided weapons. Chhun organised the attack from a location in Thailand. The group planned to strike 291 target and were able to raise US$50,000.

Coup d'état attempt
In the morning of 24 November, around 100 armed individuals attacked the Ministry of Defence and national police building, but the attack was halted by authorities before it reached the prime minister's residence. 38 conspirators, including two American citizens, were arrested. Hun Sen was attending an ASEAN Summit overseas and was not in the country. At least four people died and several dozen were wounded. The attacks did minimal damage and were defeated within a few hours. Chhun himself remained the Thai border with the intention for him to lead a new government if the coup was successful. Government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith described the attacks as terrorism and not a coup.

Aftermath and investigations
The Cambodian government convicted 38 people, including 2 American citizens, for the attack. Chhun was sentenced in absentia. He was later investigated in the United States, and was arrested in June 2005 in connection with the violence. He was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010. In 2010, Hun Sen suggested that the opposition Sam Rainsy Party had had a role in the attempted coup.