GUWAHATI, Dec 16 ? Intensifying its crackdown on Indian insurgent groups operating from its soil, Bhutanese army has captured the central command headquarters of ULFA and destroyed several camps near the border with Assam amidst reports of casualties from both sides as Indian troops kept a strict vigi to prevent fleeing ultras from entering the country, reports PTI.
A red alert has been sounded in Assam and borders with Bhutan sealed with the army moving additonal forces on the border. ?Bhutan?s Royal Army soldier have seized ULFA?s centreal command headquarters located at Phukatong in Samdrup Jongkhar district bordering Assam yesterday, Bhutanee Foreign secretary Netan Zangmo told PTI over telephone today.
She said the Bhutanese army was facing resistance from the insurgents operating from hideouts in dense forests. Sixteen Bhutanese soldiers have been injured in the operations launched yesterday, Yeshey Dorjee, director in the foreign ministry said from Thimpu.
Delhi Staff Correspondent adds: The ongoing operation against the outlawed ULFA is likely to be a short affair, with the Royal Government of Bhutan willing to provide the ULFA and NDFB militants with the option of surrendering, even as seven injured soldiers of the Royal Bhutanese Army have been airlifted by Indian Army for treatment.
Highly placed sources in the Bhutanese Embassy here told this newspaper that the ongoing operation is expected to be short and decisive. ?We hope that the militants would read the signs and lay down arms and surrender,? he said. ?The military operation came as last resort and we had reached a stage when if we didn?t do anything, it would have been implied that we didn?t mean business,? the official said.
Meanwhile, the outlawed ULFA leadership were aware that a military operation was coming after talks broke down last month. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that ever since the talks broke down last month, ULFA leadership gave orders to prepare defences around its camps in anticipation of attacks. At least three top leaders of ULFA including its self- styled foreign secretary, Sasha Choudhury, Bhimkanta Buragohain and Asanta Bagh Phukan reportedly participated in the discussion with the top officials of the Royal Government of Bhutan.
According to reports, the ULFA leadership unlike the NDFB leadership had sought time to dismantle the camps. But the RGB refused leaving them with little doubts that operations were coming.
Meanwhile, a release issued by the Bhutanese Embassy here said after a notice of 48 hours, the Royal Bhutan Army started military action on December 15 against all the camps of these militants in southern district of Samtse, Kalikhola sub-district, Sarpang, Nganglam sub-district, Samdrup Jongkhar, Bhangtar sub-district and Daifam sub-district.
The Royal Bhutan Army headquarters has reported that the flushing out operations against the militants are continuing. Some casualties have been faced by the Royal Bhutan Army and the seriously injured have been evacuated by helicopters arranged by the Indian Army. Earlier, the National Assembly of Bhutan had passed resolutions that if exhaustive peaceful efforts brought no results then the Royal Bhutan Army would have to be given the responsibility of removing them from the country. Even then the 81st session of the National Assembly this year decided that one final round of talks should be held with the insurgent groups to make every effort to persuade them to close the main camps which serve as their central headquarters and if that was not agreed to by them military action would have to be launched to make them leave the country.
The last round of talks with the ULFA and the NDFB in October and November proved fruitless. The ULFA said that it would be suicidal for their cause of independence of Assam to leave Bhutan while the NDFB said that even if they left their present camps they would have to come back and establish camps in other parts of Bhutan.