Đắk Sơn massacre

The Đắk Sơn Massacre was a massacre committed by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, in the village of Đắk Sơn, Đắk Lắk Province, South Vietnam.

Prior to the attack, earlier battles had occurred between the Viet Cong and the village defence militias.[1] On December 5, 1967, two battalions of Viet Cong attacked Dak Son village, and after a battle with the defence militia,[1] killed between 114 to 252 civilians in a "vengeance" attack on the hamlet of Đắk Sơn, home to over 2,000 Montagnards.[2] The Viet Cong believed that the hamlet had at one point given aid to refugees fleeing Viet Cong forces.[3]

Troops marched into a village near Dak Son, some of whom used flamethrowers effectively.[4] As the Viet Cong fired their weapons, people were incinerated inside their own homes, and some who had managed to escape into foxholes in their homes died of smoke inhalation. The homes that were not destroyed by flamethrowers were destroyed with grenades, and on the way out patches of the main town were set afire. Just before they left the village, the Viet Cong shot 60 of the 160 survivors. Most of the remaining villagers were taken hostage.