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The Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF; lo, ກອງທັບປະຊາຊົນລາວ), is the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
of the
Lao People's Democratic Republic Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
and the institution of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, who are charged with protecting the country.


Leadership

*Commander-in-chief:
Thongloun Sisoulith Thongloun Sisoulith ( lo, ທອງລຸນ ສີສຸລິດ; born 10 November 1945) is a Lao historian and politician serving as General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party since 15 January 2021 and President of Laos since 22 ...
(
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
and
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
) *Defense Minister:
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Chansamone Chanyalath *Chief of General Staff:
major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Khamlieng Outhakaysone


Active forces

The army of 29,100 is equipped with 30 main battle tanks. The army marine section, equipped with 16 patrol craft, has 600 personnel. The air force, with 3,500 personnel, is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and 24 combat aircraft (no longer in service). Militia self-defence forces number approximately 100,000 organised for local defence. The small arms utilised mostly by the Laotian Army are the Soviet AKM assault rifle, PKM machine gun, Makarov PM pistol, and the RPD light machine gun.


History

Until 1975, the
Royal Lao Armed Forces The Royal Lao Armed Forces (french: Forces Armées du Royaume), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democrat ...
were the armed forces of the
Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962, Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Kingdom of Cambodi ...
. Serving one of the world's least developed countries, the Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced. Its mission focus is border and internal security, primarily in internal suppression of Laotian dissident and opposition groups. This includes the suppression of the 1999 Lao Students Movement of Democracy demonstrations in
Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
, and in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent groups and other groups of Laotian and
Hmong people The Hmong people (RPA: ''Hmoob'', Nyiakeng Puachue: , Pahawh Hmong: , ) are a sub-ethnic group of the Miao people who originated from Central China. The modern Hmongs presently reside mainly in Southwest China ( Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Cho ...
opposing the
one-party A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
Marxist-Leninist LPRP
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
and the support it receives from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
. Together with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state machinery, and as such is expected to suppress political and civil unrest and similar national emergencies faced by the government in Vientiane. The LPA also has reportedly upgraded skills to respond to avian influenza outbreaks. At present, there is no major perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains very strong ties with the neighbouring Vietnamese military (2008). According to some journalists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), humanitarian and human rights organisations, the Lao People's Army has repeatedly engaged in egregious
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
violations and the practice of corruption in Laos.Amnesty International, (23 March 2007), "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle – Hmong under threat" The Centre for Public Policy Analysis, CPPA, Washington, D.C. (1 August 2013), http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org The LPAF and its military intelligence play a major role in the arrest, imprisonment and torture of foreign prisoners in Vientiane's notorious
Phonthong Prison Phonthong Prison (ຄຸກໂພນຕ້ອງ), known as the "Foreigners Prison", is a mixed gender prison near Vientiane, Laos. The prison is used to hold non-Laotian prisoners. History In Laos, there are four categories of prisoners: 1) comm ...
and the communist Lao
gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
system where Australians
Kerry and Kay Danes Kerry Arthur Danes (a former Australian Army soldier born 21 October 1958 Longreach, Queensland) and wife Kay Frances Danes née Stewart (born 20 October 1967 Wynnum, Queensland) were imprisoned in Laos as civilians on 23 December 2000 and later ...
were imprisoned and where civic activist Sombath Somphone may be imprisoned following his arrest in December 2012. In 2013, attacks by the Lao People's Army against the
Hmong people The Hmong people (RPA: ''Hmoob'', Nyiakeng Puachue: , Pahawh Hmong: , ) are a sub-ethnic group of the Miao people who originated from Central China. The modern Hmongs presently reside mainly in Southwest China ( Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Cho ...
intensified, with soldiers killing four unarmed Hmong school teachers in addition to engaging in other human rights abuses according to the Lao Human Rights Council, the Centre for Public Policy Analysis and others.Businesswire, businesswire.com (4 March 2013) "Laos: Attacks Intensify Against Lao, Hmong People" http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130304006755/en/Laos-Attacks-Intensify-Lao-Hmong-People


Equipment


Tanks, armored vehicles and trucks


Artillery


Air defense


Weapons

Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). .


Mortars

* 81mm * 82mm * 120mm *
M1938 mortar The 120-PM-38 or M1938 was a 120 mm Soviet mortar that was used in large numbers by the Red Army during World War II. Although a conventional design its combination of light weight, mobility, heavy firepower and range saw its features widely cop ...
* 120mm: M-43 *
M2 4.2 inch mortar The M2 4.2-inch mortar was a U.S. rifled 4.2-inch (107 mm) mortar used during the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It entered service in 1943. It was nicknamed the "Goon Gun" (from its large bullet-shaped shells, mono ...


See also

* Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force * Military ranks of the Lao People's Armed Forces


References


External links


The AMR Regional Air Force Directory 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Of Laos Military of Laos Military wings of communist parties 1975 establishments in Laos bn:লাওসের সামরিক বাহিনী