Nearly one million people have been displaced from their homes by the fighting in South Vietnam these past three weeks.

On Monday (24 March), thousands of refugees from Quang Tri Province made their way by boat at Danang, some 620 miles (1,040 kms) north of Saigon.

They were an estimated 600,000 people who have fled their homes in Quang Tri, which was abandoned by government troops last week, and the city of Hue, left isolated by Communist successes.

Danang, South Vietnam's second Largest city, is already crammed with more than 300,000 refugees from Thua Then province, whose capital. As due, and an estimated 100,000 others from Tam Ky and Quang ???gei to the south.

More refugees are expected to arrive in this coastal city, as the Saigon government's main aim now is to organise a fleet of ships to evacuate to the refugees in the north to Danang.

But Danang's defences have already been weakened recently when paratroops who had been guarding its southwestern side were withdrawn to the south.

The city itself is not reported to be surrounded on three sides by Communist troops and by the South China Sea on the east.