Insurgency / Assam

NEW DELHI, Dec 15 ? Bhutan today launched military action against Indian insurgent groups operating from camps in that country, a move strongly supported by India, reports PTI. Announcing launching of the operation by Thimpu, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told Parliament ?we have been informed by the Royal Government of Bhutan that they have launched today military action against Indian insurgent groups operating from camps in that country?.

The Government of India ?strongly supports this action,? he said adding that Bhutanese King Jigme Singye Wangchuk had telephonically informed...

Nagaon, Dec. 12: The anti-talks faction of the United People?s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) today rejected the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA)?s peace overtures, dashing hopes of an immediate end to the Karbi-Kuki feud. ?In the name of a peace gesture, the KRA has been trying to gain some respectability and cover up the killings of innocent Karbi people under its Operation Volcano,? the anti-talks faction of the UPDS said.

The statement came a day after the pro-talks faction of the group threatened to pick up weapons again to protect the Karbis from the KRA. Branding the KRA as ?an organisation...

Kokrajhar, Dec. 11: As a student at Gauhati Medical College in the Eighties, Bharat Chandra Basumatary took the Hippocratic oath to save lives. But he ended up as an outcast in 1992 after being arrested on charges of triggering a bomb blast in the busy Paltan Bazar area of Assam?s capital city.

Basumatary has come a long way since then. He laid down arms last week along with his comrades in the disbanded Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and wants to start life anew. ?Yes, I am ready to resume my career as a doctor,? he says.

As many as 20 people were killed in the blast that made Basumatary...

Nagaon, Dec. 9: The Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) today offered to talk peace with its rival, the anti-talks faction of the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), and said it was ready to accept even a Karbi as mediator. The announcement was made by the KRA divisional commandant in charge of operations launched by the Manipur-based militant group in Assam.

The militant leader, K. Hanghshing, said: ?For the sake of peace in Karbi Anglong, we are ready to sit for discussions. The mediator may be a Karbi or from other community, but we are ready to talk on the issue of peace in Karbi...

SOMEWHERE IN THE NORTH EAST REGION, Dec 9 ? The Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) has threatened to continue with its armed struggle until the killing of Kuki people by UPDS militants in Karbi Anglong district stops, reports PTI. KRA divisional commandant of Nagaland, Karbi Anglong and NC Hills, Thangkeng Sanghshing told reporters, whom they took to their camp, today that ?if the killing of our Kuki people continued, we will not sit idle but retaliate. We are ready to fight.?

Sangshing alleged that there was a conspiracy to drive out the Kukis from Karbi Anglong as they did not have any political...

Kokrajhar, Dec. 7: Yesterday?s militant could be tomorrow?s Black Cat commando. The director-general of the National Security Guards (NSG) today held out hope for surrendered members of the Bodo Liberation Tigers, saying each of them had the potential to walk into the country?s elite commando force.

Ranjit Shekhar Mushahary, whose exploits have made him a role model for Bodo youth, said: ?The NSG ranks comprise the best of personnel from different security wings. If the Centre and the Assam government launch a special recruitment drive for the surrendered youth, they can be later inducted into...

GUWAHATI, Dec 7 ? The Karbi Students? Association (KSA) and the Khasi Students? Union (KSU) have decided to put pressure on the governments of Assam and Meghalaya respectively, as well as the concerned autonomous councils, to resolve the boundary problem once for all. The two student bodies want the problem to be resolved on the basis of ?historical evidence and documents.?

The decision to this effect was taken in the meeting between the leaders of the KSA and the KSU held at Shillong yesterday, KSA general secretary Pankaj Teron said today. The central issue during yesterday?s meeting was...

KOKRAJHAR, Dec 6 ? The BLT today laid down a huge cache of weapons and ammunition before the Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Ajai Singh, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union Minister of State for Home Swami Chinmayanand. The arms laid down by the BLT include 303 rifles ? 138, SLR? 11, hand made cartridge gun ? 110, gelatine gallon ? 18, AK-47 rifles ? 64, M 16 rifles ? nine, M21 rifles ? seven, tear gas ? one, two-inch mortar ? one, sten gun ? 24, 35 mm grenade ? 72, Chinese grenade ? 34, nine mm carbine ? 16, nine mm grenade ? two, nine mm pistol ? 32, 50 round nine mm pistol ? one, US carbine ? 13...

GUWAHATI, Dec 6- The CPI-ML leader and the MP from Diphu, Dr Jayanta Rongpi today warned of backlash from Karbis against Kukis unless the government succeeds in controlling the marauding Kuki militants in the violence-hit Karbi Anglong. Talking to newsmen here Dr Rongpi said, ?The situation in Karbi Anglong which is dogged by conflict between the UPDS and KRA outfits, is much more grave than what appears on the surface.?

He expressed concern over the failure of the State government to control the violence which erupted way back on November 2 last, the CPI-ML leader demanded immediate action...

KOKRAJHAR, Dec 6 ? Kokrajhar today witnessed a historic event as all the 2,641 members of militant outfit Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) laid down their arms before the Assam Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Ajai Singh, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the Union Minister of State for Home, Swami Chinmayanand, to bring an end to an era of violence in the Bodo-dominated areas of Assam. Immediately thereafter, the BLT chief Hagrama Basumatary announced the disbanding of the BLT.

A festive atmosphere gripped Kokrajhar from early this morning as cross-sections of people from Kokrajhar and other parts of the...