Discontent with Diệm's policies exploded in May 1963, following the Huế Phật Đản shootings of 9 Buddhists protesting the ban on displaying the Buddhist flag on Vesak, Buddha's birthday. This resulted in mass protests -the Buddhist crisis- against discriminatory policies that gave privileges to Catholics over the Buddhist majority. Diệm's elder brother Ng Đnh Thục was the Archbishop of Huế and aggressively blurred the separation between church and state. Thuc's anniversary celebrations occurred shortly before Vesak had been bankrolled by the government, and Vatican flags were displayed prominently. There had been reports of Catholic paramilitaries demolishing Buddhist pagodas throughout Diệm's rule. Diệm refused to make concessions to the Buddhist majority or take responsibility for the deaths. On 21 August 1963, the ARVN Special Forces of Colonel L Quang Tung, loyal to Diệm's younger brother Ng Đnh Nhu, raided pagodas, causing widespread destruction and leaving a death toll into the hundreds.