Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News - January 8, 2004

Lao forces have reportedly launched a new offensive against thousands of ethnic Hmong rebels and civilians.

US-based exiles, quoted by the AFP news agency, have accused the communist government of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Lao Veterans of America says three-thousand civilians have died in besieged areas in the last month, and accused the US government of ignoring the crisis - claiming that Washington is more interested in reaching a new trade deal with Laos.

The LVA says Lao government forces launched new attacks on civilians and rebel forces in jungles north of Vang Vieng, using heavy artillery and helicopters.

AFP also quotes Hmong officials as reporting hundreds of additional civilian deaths, primarily among children, due to starvation.

Center for Public Policy Analysis 2020 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 318 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 543-1444 Fax (202) 318-0266