War Resumes In Vietnam

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30943, 27 December 1965, Page 9

War Resumes In Vietnam

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright)

SAIGON, December 26.

V let Cong guerrillas “resumed hostilities with a vengeance” with a series of attacks throughout Christmas Day and early this morning, the United States military command said todav.

Shortly after this statemetnt, Allied commanders gave orders for full resumption of air and ground operations within South V ietnam after the 30-hour Christmas truce.

A spokesman said earlier that routine patrols had resumed as usual on the expiry of the truce period, but there had as yet been no order for resumption of large-scale offensive operations.

An official statement said Viet Cong attacks started at 9 a.m. yesterday, two hours after the expiry of their own cease-fire period, but that reports indicated they had even started some isolated actions on Christmas Eve during their announced suspension of hostilities. The statement said: “The Viet Cong resumed hostilities with a vengeance by hitting outposts, district headquarters with sniping and small arms attacks and continuous harassing actions all over South Vietnam, starting at 9 a.m. yesterday. “There have been a total of 84 significant Viet Cong initiated incidents. Between midnight and 6 a.m. today 23 incidents were reported.” The statement said the most

significant of these incidents were mortar attacks on South Vietnamese Army positions in Long An province, just south of Saigon. “At 1.30 this morning, the six district towns of the province, including the province capital, were simultaneously attacked by mortar fire. “Also two outposts in the province were overrun and at last observation, reports indicate that buildings were burning at both locations,” the statement said. No further details were known.

A small 20-man outpost in Bien Hoa province, just east of Saigon, was reported surrounded at the same time today and radio contact has been lost.

The statement gave no other details. The spokesman said

casualties on either side were not yet known. The Liberation Front had announced two weeks ago the Communists would observe a cease-fire from 7 p.m. Christmas Eve to 7 a.m. Christmas Day to allow United States and other Allied forces to observe Christmas, the Associated Press reported. The Allied forces replied with a 30-hour truce from 7 p.m. Christmas Eve to midnight Christmas night. Nei-

ther side acknowledged the unilateral declaration.

Great pressure had built up around the world for a Christmas cease-fire and for an extension of a halt in the fighting as a move towards talks that might end the increasingly bloody war in Vietnam. The first offensive air operation was believed to have been launched at dawn today. A flight of FlOO Supersabre jet aircraft struck a suspected Viet Cong troop concentration about 80 miles south-west of Saigon. Shortly before, other aircraft had flown to support a Government outpost under attack in the same area. Four American soldiers were killed or wounded yesterday when they hit a Viet Cong mine while riding along a road near the town of Ben Cat, 28 miles north of Saigon.