Vietnam village sealed off as police hostage crisis deepens
A group of Vietnamese farmers who took more than a dozen police and officials hostage over a land dispute said on Thursday they would resist any rescue attempt by the authorities and have sealed off their village.
We poured oil around the community house where the men are being kept. We will make our move if the police attack us
The incident began on Saturday in My Duc, a suburban district of Hanoi, when authorities clashed with villagers who alleged their land had been illegally seized for sale by a military-owned telecoms firm. The crisis is a rare act of defiance in the authoritarian communist nation where anger against official corruption and land seizures simmers but usually meets a forceful response from police.
Local residents said they had sealed off their village with barricades made from logs, sandbags and bricks and had banned any outsiders from entering.
They also made veiled threats to set fire to the house where the hostages are being held if the authorities move in.
One female farmer, who declined to give her name, said the villagers took “preventative” measures late on Wednesday after they spotted signs police might be planning a rescue attempt.
“We poured oil around the community house where the men are being kept. We will make our move if the police attack us,” she told AFP.
She added that the hostages were being treated well and were being fed three meals a day.
A total of 38 policemen and local officials were taken hostages on Saturday.
