jointly Khmer Issarak-Viet Minh commanded guerrilla group was founded in the Thai capital in February. Dap (Sergeant) Chhuon became the commander of the group. Chhuon was a former Cambodian militia member and an active Issarak. With Thai support, he had organized anti-French guerrilla forces in the ceded provinces since 1943. Chhuon believed in supernatural power and often conducted "magical" ceremonies before his battles. By early 1948, Chhuon was the leader of Viet Minh-associated Khmer People’s Liberation Committee. Although Dap Chhuon’s army was initially jointly run with the Viet Minh, and he was the president of KPLC, Chhuon himself was not a communist neither his soldiers received Viet Minh training. In 1949, Dap Chhuon rallied with Sihanouk, the negotiation taking a year to reach agreement. In exchange for the submission, Chhuon received administrative and military carte blanche over Siem Reap, which became his fief very soon. After rallying with the King, Chhuon had been appointed as director of security, for the sake of overseeing the 1955 election, and minister of interior in 1957. Ten years after his submission, Chhuon, who was the governor of Siem Reap and military commander of the northwest, was accused of attempting to overturn Sihanouk’s government, and later he was shot by a killer sent by Lon Nol near Siem Reap in February 1959. Communist Issarak Groups Unlike Dap Chhuon and his army, who were not communist, Sieu Heng, Long Bunruot, Son Ngoc Minh and Tou Samouth, were significant communist fighters in Cambodia and their guerrillas were heavily influenced by the Viet Minh. In provinces close to Vietnam, Vietnamese ideologies, organizations and units played critical roles in developing the anti-French resistance. Political schools were set up by the Indochina Communist Party (ICP) in those bordering provinces. Most of the students were Cambodian who were recruited by the Vietnamese, and they were taught about Marxism-Leninism and significance of cooperating with the Vietnamese. However, as Khmer communist organizations had to subordinate to the victory of the First Indochina War, only at most 5700 soldiers fought the French with the Vietnamese in Cambodia. Sieu Heng Sieu Heng was commander of communist Khmer Issaraks, who became a communist in 1945. He led the military resistance against the French in the 1950s but dropped out of politics afterward. After Son Ngoc Minh left for Hanoi in the mid-1950s, Heng was in charge of communist movements inside Cambodia. Around 1955 election, Heng became