Country also in a mess (4)

I believe the answer is:

laos

'country' is the definition.
(I know that Laos is a Asian country)

'also in a mess' is the wordplay.
'in a mess' indicates anagramming the letters.
'also' anagrammed gives 'LAOS'.

(Other definitions for laos that I've seen before include "South-east Asian republic, capital Vientiane" , "part of Asia" , "Indo-Chinese country" , "Republic of southeast Asia" , "Country between Thailand/Vietnam" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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