Operation intensifies against ULFA, helicopter pressed

Guwahati, Jan 11 (UNI) Helicopter gun ships have been pressed into service as the Army today went full blast in Arunachal Pradesh and four upper Asom districts to wipe out the ULFA.

''We are using every possible resources under our command,'' announced Major General N C Marwah, GOC of the 2nd Mountain Division. He is directly commanding the counter insurgency operation in upper Asom.

Talking to newsmen for the first time after the operation was launched, the General said helicopter gunships are basically being used for fast transporation of troops to distant jungle pickets.

So far four ULFA militants were killed and 12 arrested in the state since the operation was intensified after the banned outfit massacred 66 people recently.

Official sources said most ULFA militants, who had been active in upper Asom, were on the run and had sneaked into neighboring Arunachal Pradesh on their way to Myanmar.

''That is why we are using helicopter to intercept them. You will soon see the results,'' said the Army General vowing to eliminate the ULFA from upper Asom.

The army is focussing on Arunachal Pradesh rather than the well populated districts of the Brahmaputra valley as the militants were on the run.

Specially, the Changlang area of Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, adjacent to Asom's Tinsukia district, had been dominated by militants belonging to both ULFA and NSCN. They use the area as a safe corridor to reach the unadministered Kachin area of Myanmar.

''We can always get those who had mingled with the ordinary people. First eliminate those who are fleeing and seal the exit routes of the jungles,'' said an army source. The army has also recovered the Universal Machine Gun that was used to kill the Bihari people. Besides, one LMG and some amount of RDX and TNTs were recovered from a hideouts.

Meanwhile, there were no fresh violence and Bihari laboureres who had moved to relief camps, had started leaving as normalcy had been restored in the Tinsukia district where curfew had been relaxed in the day time.

EDS:Here pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI