In Cambodia the old wars end came on April 17. 1975. as the Khmer Rouge forces stole into Phnom Penh. Up to that point an estimated six hundred thousand people had died in the fighting. Journalist Denis Cameron recalls the scene in the capital on the evening of April 16. as the word of massacres by Po1 Pots forces began circulating: "Several scores of refugee villages had entered the grounds of the Hotel le Phnom and sat mutely on the grass surrounding the swimming pool. Their silence and expressionless gaze caused a dining Italian photographer. seated at an outdoor table wolfing a steak. to begin screaming at the waiters. demanding that the hungerstricken observers be thrown out so he could eat in peace. A pair of French reporters smiled in grim satisfaction as the government rout worsened.