Former Khmer Rouge leader Ta Mok dies

Former Khmer Rouge leader Ta Mok, who was born in 1926 according to available records, was suffering from high blood pressure, tuberculosis and respiratory complications. He was being treated at a military hospital, where he died at 4:45 a.m. Friday, said his lawyer, Benson Samay he had been in government custody since 1999.

He became caught up in the wave of nationalism which overtook most of Southeast Asia following the fall of Japan, joining the Cambodian communist party in 1964. By the 1960s he was the Khmer Rouge's military chief of staff, before allegedly directing the massive purges during the 1975-9 Democratic Kampuchea.

After the regime's fall he maintained power over the north of the country until 1997, when the development of a schism enabled him to seize control of one wing of the Khmer Rouge. His supremacy was short-lived, however, for a series of betrayals resulted in his capture two years later.

At least 1.7 million people are thought to have died during the communist party's four-year regime, making it one of the most deadly genocides in the 20th century's history.