Insurgency / Northeast

NEW DELHI, July 29: The Naga People's Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) on Friday appealed to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to extend the ceasefire agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM) and continue the political dialogue towards finding lasting peace in the state after securing the release of NSCN general secretary T Muivah, reports UNI. "The leadership of Muivah is very essential for continuation of ceasefire and peace talks since he has overwhelming support and credibility" among the Naga people, the NPMHR said in a memorandum to the Prime Minister. It said...

GUWAHATI, July 27: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is giving arms training to the militants belonging to the Kamatapur Liberation Army (KLA) in the headquarters of the 709 Brigade of the ULFA located at Kalikhola in Bhutan, police sources said here. Police sources said that Dhubri Police recently arrested the second in command of the 709 Brigade of the ULFA, self-styled Sgt Major Ananta Nath alias Rajiv Barman alias Bangkok and questioning of the militant unearthed vital information regarding the strength of the 709 Brigade of the outfit. Sources said that Ananta, along with Khitish...

GUWAHATI, July 21: Worried by the recent Bhutan Government move to launch a full scale Army operation against the ultras, the leadership of the banned ULFA has geared up its security. The ULFA camps which are located at Deothang, Koipani, Sarbhang and Samdrup Jongkhar areas of Bhutan are being equipped with powerful landmines keeping in view a massive operation. The leadership of the rebel group is understood to have directed Pradyut Gohain to increase 'arsenal power' of the seven battalion located at Sukhni area. The self-styled Captain Gohain along with 40-odd soldiers are guarding the seven...

DHAKA, July 21: A Dhaka court has begun hearing of a case against Anup Chetia, general secretary of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for illegal possession of foreign currencies, reports PTI. Chetia and his two associates were produced in the designated Dhaka court today amidst tight security. If convicted the accused may face death sentence or rigorous imprisonment between two to 14 years. The prosecution lawyer Mohammad Jahangir told the court that investigation report, the chargesheet and subsequent deposition by government witnesses established the charges against the...

GUWAHATI, July 21: At a time when the Centre is talking about to bring in revolution in the information technology, one of its important wing, the Army, has not only been opposing the expansion of cellular networking in the Northeastern states but have also asked to withdraw the pager services from the region. Expressing apprehension that militants may use these services, the 4 Corps Army Headquarters has asked the ministry concerned not to grant permission for the expansion of the cellular networks in the region, including Assam. This has left the cellular operators high and dry, even as...

NEW DELHI, July 19: The Army is slowly readying for a major operation to dislodge the ULFA insurgents from their camps in Bhutan now that the kingdom's Parliament is speaking about forcing them out. Sources said the operation has to be "well thought out as it will be difficult to surprise the insurgents". More important, it will have to be a joint operation along with the Royal Bhutanese Army. "Patience is the key. We have to remember this is an operation in another country. A botched operation will be a major embarrassment," an official said. The terrain and the defensive positions of the...

AGARTALA, July 16: Dogged by severe criticism for its alleged hobnobbings with tribal miscreants in highly sensitive areas, the CRPF, the largest deployed force in Tripura, has undertaken a new strategy in counter-insurgency operations in the state. The basic idea behind the new strategy is to make the force more people-friendly. The commandants of the CRPF battalions on Saturday held a high-level meeting which was attended by the DGP BL Vohra and IG, CRPF George C Podipara to assess the effectiveness of the revised strategy in counter-insurgency operations. The CRPF IG said the new strategy...

GUWAHATI, July 17: In another major breakthrough a police team arrested a top ULFA militant suspected to be the linkman with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence at Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Sources said that the police team acting on specific information conducted a raid at Vellore and arrested the top ULFA militant Hasan Ali who happens to be the member of the ULFA's central committee. He was also the chief of the Chaur Development Committee of the outfit and was mainly doing liaison work among immigrant population to which ULFA has of late started using as their hideouts in the state. He is...

GUWAHATI, July 16: After intensifying the presence of the Army on the international border with Assam, the National Assembly of Bhutan has directed its security forces to check the General Engineering and Reserve Force and Army vehicles passing through the national highways of Bhutan, especially near the areas where the militants had their camps. Suspecting that drivers of these trucks operating for the GREF and Indian Army are also hand-in-glove with the militants, the National Assembly passed this resolution during its current session. The resolution, which was also published in Royal Bhutan...

CALCUTTA, August 27: The Army today threatened to intervene again in Nagaland where for the past few days a series of armed clashes between rival militant factions has been spreading panic among the people. The Army had suspended operations in the state following a ceasefire agreement with the major rebel outfit two years ago and only last month, the government had announced that the agreement would be extended for another year. However, the fresh spell of violence has forced the government to consider resuming its operations in the State. On Thursday morning, an activist of the National...