In Northern Laos, North Vietnamese Units have stepped up bombardment of areas and villages around Long Cheng. Before the weekend (5-6 January) Visnews cameraman Neil Davis visited one of the villages during a lull in communist shelling. There was little sign of the Meo tribesmen who normally live there...many had taken to the hills. One of the prime targets of the communist offensive would appear to be Long Chang, where a Meo Guerrilla Army Base is maintained and supplied by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.).

SYNOPSIS: Because of the North Vietnamese push, supplies are becoming scarce and it's anticipated many villagers will head south for Vientiane. Here the marketplaces a much more placid face than in the north. They're well-stocked, and Meo tribesmen and women predominate. Most of them headed south when the annual battle for the plain of Jarres began.