Government troops in Laos have been ordered to shoot to kill ethnic Hmong insurgents in the country's northern jungle regions, with cash rewards offered for every "enemy" killed, RFA's Lao service reports.
A military official in the northern province of Luangprabang said the orders had now become an "open secret" in Laos. The orders apply to the region extending from lower Luangprabang to Xiengkkhouang and the northern part of Vientiane province, where the government hopes systematically to break up Hmong opposition groups by force.
For the past year, those who kill a Hmong fighter have been promised automatic grass-roots Communist Party membership and a one-step promotion, together with a reward of six million kip (U.S. $600) per head, said the military official, who requested anonymity. A spokesman for the Laos Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane dismissed the report.
This is sheer fabrication, spread around overseas without any knowledge of real facts.
"This is sheer fabrication, spread around overseas without any knowledge of real facts," Yong Chanthalangsy told RFA. "The fact is there's no truth to it."
The military official added that "opposition" includes not only unidentified armed groups, but also "bad elements" or highwaymen, as well as Hmong villagers in hiding in the jungles.
The past two years have seen a number of ambushes against trucks and cars belonging to gold mining companies in the area.