ULFA shifts 3 camps to interior areas

GUWAHATI, July 28 - The banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has shifted three of its big camps further deep inside Bhutanese territory to avoid conflicts with the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), according to the deputy inspector-general of the Border Security Force (BSF), Ashok Kumar. He said the outfit had shifted the camps last week in view of the Bhutan government's fresh move to evict them from its soil. The Bhutan government had held two rounds of talks with the leadership of the ULFA and during the discussions the latter had agreed to reduce the number of men instead of leaving the area. The outfit had shifted the camps by about 100 km away from Daifam and Kalikhota, so that RBA could not launch operations against them. The DIG also said that the BSF had stepped up vigilance along the Indo-Bhutan border to prevent entry of the militants. According to intelligence reports, the three outfits - ULFA, National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) and Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF) which are taking shelter in Bhutan are facing problems in running their camps due to intense pressure from the Bhutan government, the DIG said. He, however, said the militants are crossing over the border from western side of Sonkosh river only and this route has been identified as most sensitive for the river.