Politics / Northeast

New Delhi, Dec. 18: Troops of the Royal Bhutan Army are surrounding and engaging insurgents from India?s northeast in their camps in southern Bhutan and avoiding close-quarters combat, according to an assessment made in the Indian security establishment.

The military operation is the first of its kind undertaken by the Indian Army-trained Bhutan troops.

They have taken casualties and Indian Army and air force helicopters are evacuating them to military hospitals. On Wednesday, the helicopters flew six sorties to Calcutta, presumably ferrying casualties to the command hospital.

Sources in the...

AGARTALA, Dec 17? Following the fall of the central headquarters of the banned insurgents outfit All Tripura Tiger Force at Satcherri in Bangladesh, tribal guerrillas belonging to this faction are now on the run. Intelligence services confirmed that a large detachment of about 43 Tiger militants who escaped the rival NLFT attack last week at Satcherri entered Indian territory in West Tripura district on Friday.

The NLFT militants had pulled off an all-out attack on the well-fortified CHQ of the ATTF on last December 6 midnight and shot dead eight Tigers. One NLFT militant was also killed in...

GUWAHATI, Dec 18 ? Opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) members today walked out of Assam Assembly for the day in the wake of AGP member Dr Zoii Nath Sharma being expelled from the House on charges of ?showing disrespect to the Chair and democracy.? As soon as the House assembled at 9 a.m. today on the first day of the Winter Session, Opposition AGP members demanded a thorough discussion on the issue of anti-Bihari violence in the House by adjourning the Question Hour.

The AGP legislators Hitendra Nath Goswami requested the Chair for adjournment of...

SAMDRUP JONGKHAR, Dec 18? Bhutan today rejected a ceasefire call by ULFA and vowed to go ahead with the ongoing ?short but decisive? military operation till the end result of flushing the Indian insurgents out of its soil was achieved, reports PTI. Amidst reports of over 120 insurgents, including the chief of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) Jiban Singha killed and over 500 captured, in the operation that continued for the fourth day, Bhutan accused the Indian insurgent groups of ULFA, NDFB and KLO of violating its sovereignty and said ?as long as they are here, they pose a threat to...

Guwahati, Dec. 17: The Assam police intelligence network today worked overtime to ascertain if the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) publicity secretary B. Irakdao was also among the militant heavyweights ?captured? in Bhutan but drew a blank till late this evening.

There is no confirmation yet about reports doing the rounds that the NDFB leader has been picked up,? a top Assam police official said.

However, the NDFB, which has remained silent ever since the Royal Bhutan Army launched its offensive against them and the Ulfa in Bhutan, today issued a statement to the press.

The...

KOHIMA, Dec 17 ? Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has re-introduced the Naga Integration Bill in the Nagaland Assembly Session Tuesday for resolution. The Naga Integration Bill had been passed thrice by this same Assembly in the past. And the current one, if passed, will be the fourth one.

Moving for resolution of the integration of the Naga contiguous areas on the opening day of the Nagaland Assembly Session, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Government, Chief Minister informed the House that the ?aspirations? of the Naga people for the ?integration of the Naga areas adjoining the State...

GUWAHATI, Dec 17 ? The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) today requested the Royal Government of Bhutan to stop the offensive against it as it may create enmity between Bodo and Bhutanese people. In a press statement, Major B Susranggra, Chief of Staff of Bodoland Army of the NDFB said the Royal Government must never think of the Bodos as the enemy of Bhutan. The Bodos shall always uphold the age-old friendly relations with the Bhutanese, he said, adding, the NDFB, ULFA and KLO cadres have no ill-motives against the sovereignty of Bhutan. Major Susranggra said the last round of...

GUWAHATI, Dec 17 ? The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today received a major set back during the ongoing offensive by the Royal Bhutan Army personnel as the publicity secretary of the outfit Mithinga Daimari, along with several other cadres of the outfit have been nabbed. Highly placed security sources confirmed the arrest of the ULFA publicity secretary during the Bhutan Army operation against the ULFA militants holed up in the territory of the Himalayan Kingdom. Sources said that the Bhutan Government has also claimed the arrest of a senior leader of the National Democratic Front of...

Gelephu (Bhutan), Dec. 16: For the better part of last night, neither the residents of this town nor the people of Datgiri-Hatisar, on the Indian side of the Indo-Bhutan border, could sleep in peace. The sound of heavy gunfire rent the air throughout the night, signalling the beginning of a war the people had hoped would never take place.

However, the only sign of activity today in the border towns of Gelephu and Datgiri-Hatisar were of senior military officials barking instructions to their juniors.

On the Indian side of the border, troops were in the same state of alert, creating the...

Kokrajhar, Dec. 16: The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) chief is under constant pressure from the members of the outfit to announce a ceasefire and sit down for talks with the Centre. Disclosing this, surrendered NDFB militant B. Maofung, alias Manaranjan Basumatary, said the rebels had repeatedly appealed to NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary to begin talks with the Union government since 2001.

Basumatary, who held the rank of second lieutenant before his surrender, was among the 21 NDFB cadre who laid down arms before the Kokrajhar district administration on November 28.

The group...