Laos, 1960 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted military coup in Laos on 10 September 1960, the date on which General Phoumi Nosavan and Prince Boun Oum, operating from Savannakhet, formed a Revolutionary Committee and announced they were assuming power in defiance of the neutralist government of Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma. This was the rightist countermove against the bloodless coup that the paratrooper captain Kong Le had staged in Vientiane on 9 August 1960, which had toppled the pro-Western cabinet and installed Souvanna Phouma at the head of a neutralist government. Backed by Thailand and financed by the CIA, Phoumi built a rival power base in the south, imposed a blockade on Vientiane, and prepared to march on the capital.
The September countermove did not immediately unseat Souvanna Phouma, but it split the country three ways among neutralists, rightists, and the communist Pathet Lao, and Phoumi's forces finally captured Vientiane in the December 1960 Battle of Vientiane.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
81209101960
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Neutralist Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma remained in office in September 1960 but was driven out when Phoumi's forces took Vientiane in December 1960.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
The Globe and Mail
New York Times
South China Morning Post
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →