Vietnamese troops launch propaganda campaign

Vietnam has sent hundreds of soldiers to conduct a propaganda campaign among ethnic minority peoples in the Central Highlands region, following an upsurge of unrest last month.

The army newspaper said the troops had been ordered to distribute free rice and medicine and help with infrastructure projects.

The soldiers were asked to try to persuade local families to accept them as guests and spread awareness of party policy, although the paper admitted that few spoke the local languages.

Over the past two days, state television has broadcast footage of the recent unrest, in which masked protesters were shown hurling rocks at riot police, in the latest admission that the trouble was more serious than previously acknowledged. In early February, members of the region's mainly Christian ethnic minority staged violent protests over the loss of land to incoming migrants and alleged religious repression.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service