The U.S. Embassy advisory said protests had stopped traffic on roads leading to Pleiku and Buon Ma Thuot, capitals of the coffee-growing provinces. The unrest appeared to die down after soldiers and riot police were dispatched to the area.
Information is hard to obtain because the government has tried to seal off the area.
The report contradicts the government's first explanation for the unrest in a news report Friday by the official Vietnam News Agency. The agency said they were immediately released after confessing their crimes and asking for leniency, the agency said. Kok Ksor, executive director of the Montagnard Foundation, said about 5,000 people marched peacefully on Pleiku's city hall Feb. 2, demanding the release of the two men, identified as Rahlan Pon and Rahlan Djan of Cu Prong district. Another 1,000 people marched in solidarity in Buon Ma Thuot, Ksor said. Ksor said protesters were also angry over government confiscation of their land to make way for coffee plantations.