SUMMARY

The alliance of the Lao Resistance Movement was also sometimes known under the name NLF (National Liberation Front). It was reportedly a loose umbrella organisation that in 2000 consisted of nine anti-government movements. The main opposition parties were of the Hmong ("free men") tribe (sometimes referred to by the government as Meo, or "barbarians"), and right-wing royalist forces.

It was reported that the strongest group within the LRM alliance was the former Chao Fa ("soldiers of the sky") organisation, which in 1985 reorganised under the name ELOL (Ethnic Liberation Organisation of Laos). The secretary general, Yang Teng, was reportedly trying to forge links with other ethnic opposition groups by choosing that name. It was later claimed that the goal for ELOL was to establish an autonomous region for the Hmong.

Another major group in the LRM alliance allied itself the LNLA (Lao National Liberation Army) or ULNLF (United Lao National Liberation Front) under military leadership of the exiled General Vang Pao, and the political guidance of Vang Shur. The LNLA/ULNLF was most active in reporting developments in the conflict due to its strong links to the expatriates in the US, but there are doubts over whether it really participated on the ground. There were also suggestions that there was a split between the LNLA/ULNLF and the ELOL.

The government usually branded the insurgent groups "bandits," "royalist remnants," or "right-wing groups."