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The Key West Citizen
Key West, Monroe County, Florida
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In Saigon, South Vietnam, Premier Ngo Dinh Diem's forces clashed with the rebellious Binh Xuyen society in a bloody battle for government control, starting with mortar attacks on Diem's palace. Diem's troops gained ground, capturing key posts amid heavy casualties.
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Control Of Gov't Of South Viet Nam Is Dispute Point
By JOHN RODERICK
SAIGON, South Viet Nam (P) - Bloody fighting raged in Saigon tonight, with control of South Viet Nam's government at stake.
The army troops of American-supported Premier Ngo Dinh Diem battled private soldiers of the rebellious Binh Xuyen society.
Binh Xuyen, a society of former river pirates which controls Saigon's gambling and vice spots, started the battle at 1:10 p.m. with two mortar bombardments of the Nationalist Premier's palace.
Diem met the challenge promptly by declaring all-out war on the Binh Xuyen. He had held off direct military intervention because of French fears such action would touch off civil war.
Diem Forces Strong
Initial fighting appeared to be favoring the well-equipped Diem forces, which outnumber by far the estimated 5,000 men of the Binh Xuyen.
Casualties were estimated in first reports at 120 dead and 300 wounded. Hospitals were filled with the dead and dying.
Punching swiftly and hard, Diem's troops knocked over four principal garrisons and posts held in Saigon and Cholon, the Chinese sector of the capital several miles from the French section. The total population of the city, swollen by an influx of refugees from the North, is about two million. The Nationalists threw an artillery barrage against the Binh Xuyen headquarters near Cholon.
This, in brief, is the background behind the struggle for control of non-Communist South Viet Nam, upon which the West and particularly the United States is counting to hold the tide against the Communist North.
Background Of Fight
The Binh Xuyen, along with two religious sects, the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai, have been demanding that Diem quit in favor of a coalition in which they would have increased representation. Diem has refused. Last March 30 the Binh Xuyen touched off an attack in which at last 26 persons were killed. A truce ended that fighting, but Diem did not relent in his efforts to put his government in complete control. To gain that control Diem sought to take over the security police, called the National Surete, from the Binh Xuyen.
Today's fighting broke out within 90 minutes of a deadline set by army Col. Nguyen Ngoc Le to get the Binh Xuyen troops off the streets. Le was named head of the surete two days ago by Diem.
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Saigon, South Viet Nam
Event Date
Today
Key Persons
Outcome
casualties estimated at 120 dead and 300 wounded; initial fighting favoring diem forces, who captured four principal garrisons and posts in saigon and cholon.
Event Details
Bloody fighting erupted in Saigon when Binh Xuyen forces bombarded Premier Ngo Dinh Diem's palace at 1:10 p.m., prompting Diem to declare all-out war. His well-equipped army troops, outnumbering the 5,000 Binh Xuyen men, advanced swiftly, overrunning key positions in Saigon and Cholon, and barraged Binh Xuyen headquarters. The conflict stems from Binh Xuyen demands for a coalition government, following a prior attack on March 30 and a deadline set by Col. Nguyen Ngoc Le to clear streets of Binh Xuyen troops.