Insurgency / Northeast

SILIGURI, April 19 — The Bhutan government is taking steps to curb activities of Indian militant organisations in the country, Bhutanese ambassador to India Lynpo Dago Tshering said here today. Tshering said that there were 20 camps of anti-India militants running in Bhutan, including nine operated by the ULFA. Of the nine, four were already destroyed by the Bhutan government, he said adding a number of new check posts were also set up at a great expenditure. Securitymen have blocked the entry points inside Dooars jungles usually used by militants to enter the Himalayan country, he said...

Ukhrul, April 18: At the age of 77, he is only 11 years older to his brother. But in reality, he is a father figure to his sibling, Thuingaleng Muivah.

The modest home of Sangreihan Muivah, unassuming elder brother of the NSCN (I-M) general secretary, is just like any other Naga household.

Sangreihan is reluctant to hazard a guess about what would happen as the Naga peace talks move forward. He does, however, give an idea on how things have shaped for his family since the early days of the Naga rebellion and Th. Muivah’s own association with the movement since the Sixties.

After the...

Shillong, April 12: Meghalaya police have pieced together tell-tale signs of the proscribed Ulfa’s nexus with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Korean gunrunners following the recent seizure of a large cache of sophisticated weaponry from the outfit’s hideouts at Phulbari in West Garo Hills district.

Police have seized during raids over the past three days “a mini-truckload” of sophisticated weapons, including 96 rocket-propelled grenades, 11 large rockets, eight rocket launchers, 15 anti-tank devices, 680 rounds of 12.76 MMG ammunition, two AK-56 rifles, several rounds of bullets for AK-series...

SOMEWHERE (Along) INDO-MYANMAR BORDER, April 9 – A number of militant outfits of this region have been taking shelters and imparting training inside hideouts in the Myanmar territory apart from transportation of sophisticated military equipment from the south east Asian countries into India’s porous north eastern states. This is despite the moves of the Myanmar military regime initiated for flushing out the North East underground militants’ from their camps inside the Myanmar territory with the killing of five activists of the banned NSCN (K) men along the Nagaland-Myanmar border last year...

TURA, April 9 — The huge cache of arms seized by the West Garo Hills Police on Tuesday evening after an encounter with militants was meant for the banned ULFA. The outfit had planned to transport the armoury from Garo Hills to Assam to attack security forces and disrupt normal life during its raising day, which passed of Monday. Documents seized from the encounter site reveal these facts. The arms shipment was brought all the way through Bangladesh and concealed in Chisikgre village of West Garo Hills, bordering Assam, since the last two weeks, highly places sources revealed.

A team of ULFA...

Guwahati, April 8: The seven-member advisory group to the ministry of home affairs, set up to look into the security loopholes in the seven northeastern states, today rued that despite several attempts, it has not been able to meet any of the chief ministers except Tarun Gogoi.

The group, which include among others, supercop K.P.S. Gill, former Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary S.K. Agnihotri and Lt. Gen. (retired) S.K. Pillai, was also supposed to recommend measures to plug those loopholes.

“We have been trying for the past six months to meet all the chief ministers. But we managed to meet...

NEW DELHI, April 8 — The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been alarmed by the trans-national linkages between the militant outfits in the North-east and the ISI of Pakistan and has held illegal inflow of arms and influx of illegal migrants into the region as having aided growth and movement of militancy.

This was the conclusion drawn up by the Union Home Secretary in his submission before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, which tabled its report in the Lok Sabha here today.

The standing Committee’s report came even as the MHA said that it has directed the Assam...

GUWAHATI, April 5 — Growing activities of the Islamic militant groups in the neighbouring country Bangladesh are posing a serious security threat to the north-eastern region of India, particularly because of the porous Indo-Bangla border. According to a report prepared by the security agencies on the disturbing phenomenon, nine such groups met recently to form the Bangladesh Islamic Manch under the leadership of the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HUJI). So far the Manch’s activities are restricted to circulating speeches of Osama bin Laden and Maulana Masood Azhar, a Pakistani terrorist leader, to...

NEW DELHI, April 4 – Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga has opposed granting of any local administrative powers to Reang tribals, many of whom have migrated to the state from neighbouring Tripura, reports PTI.

“We are trying to find an amicable solution to the problem .... but are opposed to their demand for administrative powers,” Zoramthanga told PTI after a 20-minute meeting with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani here, on Thursday. The Reangs shifted out from Tripura about two years ago alleging harassment by other tribes.

Zoramthanga said the Centre also did not approve of granting any...

GUWAHATI, April 3 — Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today informed that the Government of India was yet to take any concrete initiative to man the unguarded Indo-Bhutan border in the State to prevent infiltration of extremists from their camps in Himalayan kingdom. Talking to newsmen here this morning, Sri Gogoi said, “Although the State Government has been insisting on deployment of the BSF along the unmanned Indo-Bhutan border, the Centre has decided to deploy SSB personnel. However, no step has been taken so far to deploy even the SSB along the international border through which ULFA and NDFB...