VILLAGERS OF KHAMMAOUANE IN THAKHET, SITUATED IN CENTRAL LAOS, WERE UNPERTURBED BY THE RECENT HEAVY FIGHTING BETWEEN NEUTRALIST AND PRO-COMMUNIST PATHET LAO FORCES IN THE AREA.
PATHET LAO FORCES, ASSISTED BY NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS, HAVE REACHED WITHIN TWENTY-FIVE KILOMETRES OF THE TOWN OF THAKHET, THEY WANTED TO AVOID ANY TROUBLE THAT MIGHT ARISE IF THEY CAME RIGHT UP TO THE MEKONG RIVER.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE FIGHTING EARLY THIS MONTH, MANY LAOTIANS, INCLUDING A FEW GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, HAVE CROSSED THE MEKONG RIVER INTO THE THAI PROVINCES OF NONOKHAI AND NAKORN PANOM.
THE REFUGEES WERE SCREENED TO PREVENT INFILTRATION BY LAOTIAN COMMUNIST ELEMENTS. THEY WERE ALLOWED TO STAY IN RESTRICTED AREAS SO THAT THEIR MOVEMENTS COULD BE CONTROLLED.
MEANWHILE, ABOUT 1,000 THAIS LIVING IN LAOS HAD RETURNED TO THAILAND BECAUSE OF RENEWED FIGHTING BETWEEN PATHET LAO AND RIGHTWING FORCES. THOSE LIVING ALONG THE LAOTIAN FRONTIER HAD BEEN ASKED TO REPORT THE PRESENCE OF STRANGERS.