1964 FLHP rebellion
FLHP rebellion, fought in Central Highlands, South Vietnam, was an uprising of the Vietnam War, between the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the Central Highlands Liberation Front.
Rebellion
On 26 August 1964, a congress of 55 moderate Montagnards, representing ethnic minorities, met in Pleiku, Vietnam. Fearing being excluded from the negotiations, the rebels staged an uprising On the night of 19 to 20 September 1964 Montagnard strike force personnel in five CIDG camps near Ban Me Thuot initiated the revolt These camps included Buon Mi Gia, Buon Sar Pa, Bu Prang, Ban Don and Buon Brieng.At Camp Buon Sar Pa, 400 Montagnard rebels quickly seized control. The Montagnards killed eleven LLDBs troops at the camp. Captain Charles B. Darnell Jr. and his team were disarmed and held hostage in the team house. The strikers seized the nearby district headquarters at Dak Mil.
At Bu Prang southwest of Buon Sar Pa, three companies of the rebels seized the camp early in the morning. Fifteen LLDBs were killed. Later, seventeen Vietnamese Popular Forces were killed at a nearby checkpoint.
At Camp Buon Mi Ga located southeast of Ban Me Thuot, the rebels were organized into four companies about 614 rebels and advised by Captain Donald L. Loa’s detachment A-121A. The Montagnards killed ten Vietnamese Special Forces and disarmed Captain Loa’s team before leaving the Americans under guard as they took the trucks to drive to Ban Me Thuot. American helicopters arrived and CPT Loa and his team were allowed to leave the camp.
At Ban Don the rebels disarmed and tied up several LLDBs and several Americans were disarmed and put under guard.
The rebels controlled Highway 14, attacked Srépok post, then advanced to Buôn Ma Thuột, occupied the VTVN radio station, and called on the Montagnards to rise up against the South Vietnamese government to create an independent nation.
On 20 September 1964, General Nguyễn Phước Vĩnh Lộc, commander of Tactical Zone II, declared martial law in Buôn Ma Thuột, the 23rd Division, along with several commando and armored battalions, were mobilized to retake the radio station and other rebel-occupied outposts. Suddenly the US embassy advised Vĩnh Lộc to negotiate.
Aftermath
Y Bhăm Êñuôl á representative of the moderate faction of FLHP, was invited to negotiate with the rebels. The results of the agreements:- Y Bhăm Êñuôl was appointed as the official president of the FLHP movement. However, Y Bham Eñuol fled to Cambodia on the afternoon of 20 September.
- Rebel commanders were not prosecuted and were not pursued as they withdrew through Cambodia.