HIGHLANDS THREAT North Vietnamese troop build-up

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32810, 10 January 1972, Page 11

HIGHLANDS THREAT North Vietnamese troop build-up

.V.Z.P..4.-Reuter —Copyright

PLEIKU (South Vietnam), January 9.

The North Vietnamese had begun what was perhaps their biggest build-up in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam since the Tet offensive early in 1968, Brigadier-General George Wear said yesterday.

General Wear, the second highest ranked American adviser in South Vietnam’s Second Military Region, said the Communists might be able to force their way into such Central Highland cities as Pleiku or Kontum, and even hold some districts briefly, but that would cost them heavily, as it did in 1968.

“It’s the largest buildup since we started withdrawing troops from Vietnam,” Brigadier Wear said. “It may be the biggest since the Tet offensive.” “If, as we hear, the North Vietnamese are moving another division down here, they must be on some kind of mission. They can move men on foot. The prisoners we capture tell us they walked all the way. “But you have to move heavy equipment by truck. Apparently their ability to bring everything heavy down here has been reduced. Of course, we could all be surprised.”

More bombing American 852 bombers went back into action last night in South Vietnam, again attacking the bunker and

storage areas 20 miles north-| north-west of Khe Sanh, said ,a spokesman for the United States Command. j The target extended into! i the southern half of the DeI militarised Zone, a spokesman said. North Vietnamese artillery has resumed shelling South Vietnamese outposts along the D.M.Z. despite the heavy bombing.

Terrorist attack Nine South Vietnamese were killed and 110 were wounded last night when a terrorist threw a grenade into a student meeting at the Qui Nhon city stadium, the Saigon Military Command reported today.

It was one of the worst terrorist incidents of the war. “The explosion killed two teachers and seven students and wounded 110 other people including mostly students and civilians,” a communique

I said. “The terrorist was not apprehended." Qui Nhon is on the central coast of South Vietnam, ‘275 miles north-east of Saigon. American military advisers said many of the injured suffered only slight wounds. Laos post overrun In Laos, North Vietnamese troops have overrun a Government outpost about 11 miles south-east of Long Cheng, military sources said in Vientiane yesterday. Long Cheng, the headquarters of General Van Pao’s Meo tribe irregulars, has been under heavy Communist bombardment for the last week, since the Communists took the Plain of Jars to the north. The capture of the outpost to the south-east means there are Communist troops virtually on every side of the base, which has been limited to supplies from the air for some time.

Shelling continues The sources said Communist 130 mm guns were continuing to shell Long Cheng. The sources said North Vietnamese troops also were building up their forces near Thakho, eight miles southeast of Long Cheng. Many of the 30,000 civilian refugees from Long Cheng were housed in Thakho, and now most of them and villagers from the area have been moved either by land to Vang Vieng, 25 miles to the south, or flown to Vientiane.