Military crackdown against ULFA in Arunachal forests

Guwahati, Jun 8 (UNI) The Army and Asaam Rifles have launched a major military operation against the outlawed ULFA in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh.

Defence sources said the operation has been launched to flush out and nab ULFA cadres taking refuge in and around the Namdapha Reserve Forest in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

A large force, exclusively trained for operating in jungles and counter-terrorist operations, is taking part in this operation.

Armed with the latest weapons, night-vision devices and other war-like equipment, the security forces have laid the Namdapha Reserve Forest under siege.

Helicopters are also extensively being used for aerial reconnaissance and insertion of special teams.

Army sources said the military operations in the Manabum Reserve Forest in the Lohit and Changlang districts of the hill state had forced the ULFA cadres to flee to the neighbouring jungles like Namdapha.

Combing operations in upper Asom has also forced the ULFA to take shelter in the neighbouring state.

No reports of casualties have been received so far.

Incidentally, the Director Generals of Police(DGP) of Asom, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya had met at the police headquarters here to review the counter-insurgency mechanism in the region.

The GOC of the 4 Corps, IGPs of the four states and top army officials based in Asom also attended the meeting.

Indication emerging from the meeting suggested that a massive anti-insurgency operation was on the cards after the recent spurt in violence.

Significantly, two months back, the Army had gunned down eight top cadres of the outfit in the Manabum Reserve Forest.

The operations came after some major strikes by the ULFA in Asom.

There has been about 30 incidents of bomb explosion in the state in the last five months, mostly in Guwahati and the upper Asom district of Tinsukia.

At least 120 people, mostly Hindi-speaking, have lost their lives to insurgency in Asom since January last.

In one of the deadliest strikes, nine people were killed when rebels exploded an IED at the Athgaon area in Guwahati on May 26.

While three rounds of talk between the Centre and the People's Consultative Group(PCG), a mediator group nominated by the ULFA, failed to make any headway for negotiations, the unabated violence sponsored by the outfit, including the gruesome killing of over 80 Hindi-speaking people in January last, have added to the public anger.

The ULFA wants a committment from the Centre that all core issues, including the issue of 'sovereignty', would be discussed during the proposed direct talks. While the Centre is not willing to give in to the demand, it has been insisting on direct communication from the outfit regarding the place, time and participants of the talks.

UNI