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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
The Ethnic Liberation Organization of Laos is the
largest
opposition group. The organization grew out of a major
Hmong
resistance group, the Chao Fa (Lords of the Sky, or God's
Disciples). The Chao Fa was organized in 1975 by Zhong
Zhua Her
(Pak Au Her, or Pa Kao Her), a senior resistance fighter
who had
received aid from the United States in his fight against
Pathet Lao
and Vietnamese forces.
In the late 1970s, the Chao Fa boasted of having 20,000
members; however, only 2,000 to 4,000 were armed. By the
mid-1980s,
the number of armed Chao Fa was probably around 2,000.
Because it
had been subjected to years of attacks by government and
Vietnamese
forces, the group was split and forced to flee into China,
which
provided it with assistance.
By late 1984, China had returned Laotian resistance
groups back
across the border. In 1985 Zhong Zhua Her reorganized the
Chao Fa
under the banner of the Ethnic Liberation Organization of
Laos and
set up his base camp in Xaignabouri Province near the
border with
Thailand. From his base, Zhong Zhua Her attempted to
organize
resistance elements in the northern provinces of Laos and
sought to
establish an autonomous region for the Hmong.
In 1990 the Ethnic Liberation Organization of Laos
reportedly
had 3,000 men in armed units and another 6,000 persons
trained but
without weapons. Individual weapons reportedly were
variants of the
AK-47, a few M-79 grenade launchers, RPG-2, RPG-7, and a
few 60mm
mortars. In the early 1990s, the group concentrated on
mounting
small-unit operations and consolidating support. Beginning
in 1992,
relations with the other resistance groups were poor to
nonexistent. This greatly hampered efforts of resistance
movements
to organize a broader agenda and larger operations as did
closer
relations between Laos and Thailand. As of mid-1994, the
strength
of the Ethnic Liberation Organization of Laos was
estimated at
approximately 2,000 persons.
Data as of July 1994
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