
Paratrooper captain who led a neutralist coup.
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Kong Le's neutralist forces were defeated in the Battle of Vientiane by right-wing troops under Phoumi Nosavan and Boun Oum. The defeat forced Kong Le to retreat to the Plain of Jars, where he allied with the Pathet Lao to continue fighting.
Kong Le, a paratrooper captain, led a coup in Vientiane against the right-wing government of Phoumi Nosavan. He established a neutralist government under Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma, aiming to end the civil war and remove foreign influence from Laos.
After his defeat, Kong Le formed a temporary alliance with the communist Pathet Lao to fight against the right-wing government. The alliance was uneasy and short-lived, as ideological differences soon led to conflict between the neutralists and communists.
Kong Le fled Laos after his neutralist faction was crushed by the Pathet Lao and right-wing forces. He went into exile in Indonesia, where he lived quietly until his death. His exile marked the end of the neutralist movement in Laos.
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