Authorities in Vietnam said Friday they have arrested the other three of six ethnic minority individuals accused of spearheading deadly attacks in June on two commune offices in central Dak Lak province that left nine people dead.
Police say the six were leaders of two groups of about 40 people armed with guns and knives who conducted a dawn raid on the headquarters of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes in Dak Lak’s Cu Kuin district on June 11.
In all, authorities detained nearly 100 ethnic minorities for allegedly participating in terrorist attacks in which two commune officials and three civilians also were killed. The attackers also held three civilians hostage, but one escaped, and the other two later were freed.
Dak Lak Provincial Police Director Maj. Gen. Le Vinh Quy told state media that police arrested the three remaining wanted members of the group on Friday. They included Y Khing Lieng, Nay Duong and Y Hoal Eban.
Police arrested the other three wanted suspects Y Ju Nie, Nay Yen and Nay Tam on July 15.
In the days immediately following the attack, authorities had said those involved were young people who harbored delusions and extremist attitudes and had been incited and abetted by the ringleaders via the internet.
The attacks occurred in an area that is home to about 30 indigenous tribes known collectively as Montagnards, who have historically felt persecuted or oppressed.
Vietnamese state media had reported that the attackers were Montagnards, but the country’s Ministry of Public Security did not identify those arrested as such, Radio Free Asia reported earlier.
In late June, RFA interviewed several overseas Montagnard organizations whose members denied involvement in the incident and condemned the violent attacks.
Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Vietnamese.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
