 Command of the military was however in reality in the hands of Saloth Sar, whose existence in the Khmer Rouge's senior levels (along with that of Nuon Chea, Son Sen and Ieng Sary) was kept essentially secret.The Front's military forces on the field, the Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces (CPNLAF) were initially small, and most of the early fighting in the Cambodian Civil War was in fact carried out by North Vietnamese forces with CPNLAF assistance.Sihanouk's relationship with the Khmer Rouge leadership was always rather strained.