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Rh directed against GVN youth groups, project personnel and village officials began to rise.

B.

The figures presently available indicate that assassinations and kidnappings perpetrated by the VC and other dissidents got off to a slow start in September, '59. The date on which the GVN relaxed its post-election security precautions is not available at the present time, but the VC which committed only 7 assassinations and 4 kidnappings in the first 13 days of September subsequently intensified their activities and by the end of September the total for the month amounted to 22 assassinations and 34 kidnappings, according to evaluated data from various sources. From this point the figures have continued to rise to levels considerably above the average for the past two years. A chart prepared by the Embassy and based as nearly as possible on constant criteria, is included as Annex I to this report. Deaths or persons missing as a result of participation in armed combat are not represented on this chart. Since reports are still incomplete for November and December, the figures for these months are tentative.

Although a complete analysis of assassinations and kidnappings is not available at the present time, it has become fairly apparent that since last summer the VC have added the newly formed GVN youth groups to their list of prime targets which continue to include village officials and NRM cadres. The vast majority of incidents has consistently occurred in the Fifth Military Region with a small number reported in the First and Capital Military Regions. During September and October, the months for which final figures are available, An Xuyen Province topped the list for both assassinations and kidnappings, followed by Kien Giang, Kien Phong and Phong Dinh. other Provinces in the Fifth Military Region, although far from peaceful, vary considerably from month to month.

C.

VC activities involving military type operations such as ambushes, clashes and attacks on GVN military and civil posts have intensified in size and vigor over the past few months although, according to available information, the number of such actions increased only slightly through December. Statistics from GVN sources on actions and casualties of both friendly and enemy forces Rh