Laos, 1965 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as an attempted dissident coup in Laos on 16 April 1965, part of the aftershocks of the failed January 1965 coups against the Royal Lao Government of Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma. After General Kouprasith Abhay crushed the risings of Phoumi Nosavan and the police force of Siho Lamphouthacoul in early February, remnants of the defeated rightist coup troops continued to pose a threat. An insurrection was threatened at Thakhek on 26 March 1965 but was quelled bloodlessly, and about three weeks later the defeated coup troops once again threatened to stage a coup.
Kouprasith sent a regiment to overcome the mutinous battalion; about two thirds of its troops deserted and its commanding officer was executed. These final convulsions ended the rightist military challenge to Souvanna Phouma, whose neutralist coalition government continued amid the widening Laotian Civil War until the communist Pathet Lao takeover in 1975.
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
81204161965
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma's government suppressed the final coup remnants and remained in power.
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
Powell and Thyne
New York Times
Arizona Republic
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 →