Vietnam’s military has reportedly deployed helicopters and tanks after violence broke out involving the region’s ethnic minorities four days ago. On Sunday, scores of people attacked two police stations resulting in the death of nine people. In neighbouring Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen has sent more police to the border to prevent spillover.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Fighting is intensifying in Vietnam’s central highlands after violence broke out four days ago in Dak Lak province, home to mostly Christian ethnic Degar (part of the Montagnard group).

Vietnam’s military has apparently deployed tanks and helicopters to crush the insurrection, UCANews reported.

“Shooting and further reports of ambushes of Vietnamese police stations and the military have been reported to me and that the entire Central Highlands [area] is under lockdown,” one source is quoted as saying.

Tensions flared up on Sunday when a group of unidentified people wearing camouflage vests attacked two police stations in Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur municipalities, killing four officers, two municipal officials and three civilians.

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security, which blamed a “group causing insecurity and disorder”, announced the arrest of at least 45 people.

Vietnam’s Central Highlands are inhabited mostly by Degar, a collection of dozens of indigenous groups who are largely Christian, many of them Catholic, who fought alongside US forces during the Vietnam War.

Over the years they have complained about the repressive policies carried out by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which saw the authorities restrict their religious freedom and seize their lands.

Security forces “have arrested us, beat us up, tortured us. They have destroyed our houses. They have destroyed our churches,” local Degar people said in a statement on Sunday.

“Vietnam's deliberate efforts to isolate and separate these highland areas and their people from all contact with the international community are partly to blame for incidents like this," said  Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch Asia, on Monday.

“Behind Vietnam's veil of secrecy over the highlands, the government seriously violates rights, denies freedom of religion and belief, seizes land from indigenous peoples, and attempts to forcibly assimilate them into the overwhelming Kinh culture, language, and society,” he explained.

“While Human Rights Watch never endorses violence, it is easy to understand why locals are angry with the Vietnamese government and its repressive policies,” Robertson added.

From the outset, religious and civil organisations representing the region’s ethnic minorities have responded to the incident stating that they are not involved in the armed attacks.

The group Montagnards Stand for Justice, whose founders are political refugees in Thailand and the United States, stressed that it had no link to the violence and expressed concern about the armed uprising, which threatens to frustrate the efforts made so far in favour of religious freedom in Vietnam.

According to some, the attackers belong to mercenary groups.

Many Degar are confused about recent events, this according to Rev Nguyen Cong Chinh, the US-based co-founder of the Vietnam Evangelical Church of Christ. Speaking to Radio Free Asia, he said that he doubts that locals could form an armed group of 30-40 people.

For its part, Vietnamese state TV aired an interview with an alleged fighter, who said he was ordered to "shoot everyone he saw," and  was promised that he would “get rich”.

In a statement, government agencies urged people “not post or share related information that has not been verified”. In fact, five people have already been fined for disseminating "false information" on social media.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Cambodia, the authorities have beefed up the police presence at the border.

“Chaos is happening in Vietnam,” and “we have to be careful with people coming into our country,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen, the autocrat who has ruled the Southeast Asian country for nearly 40 years.

“We need to keep in touch with the Vietnamese side for security protection and must do anything not to provoke conflict with Vietnam,” he explained.

Over the years, various Montagnards from Vietnam have sought refuge in Cambodia during troubled times at home.

• vietnam
• cambodia
• central highlands
• degar
• montagnards
• attack
• violence
• repression
• racism