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Sulfa is Army`s antidote for Ulfa: The Pioneer
Jorhat, Sept 24: Even as the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, was visiting India, Indian troops conducted a covert operation in the Samdrup Jongkhar area, along the Assam-Bhutan border, only to face higher casualties than the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) cadre, who according to intelligence sources in the Army, lost only three men.
Jorhat, Sept 24: Even as the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, was visiting India, Indian troops conducted a covert operation in the Samdrup Jongkhar area, along the Assam-Bhutan border, only to face higher casualties than the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) cadre, who according to intelligence sources in the Army, lost only three men.
This, according to the sources, has resulted in the Army changing tack, deciding now to hire ULFA militants, who have surrendered (now called SULFA), to carry out covert strikes against their former comrades, given their first hand knowledge of the terrain of Bhutan. The services of 220 surrendered ULFA militants have already been requisitioned for the purpose, the sources said.
This is being done even as the King has offered the fig leaf of talks to the ultras in a last-ditch effort to find a peaceful solution to the issue of insurgents of the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) operating from Bhutan's soil. India and Bhutan have agreed to work closely on the security situation, with New Delhi providing intelligence and logistical support to operations against Bhutan-based militants. A similar strategy may also be drawn up to deal with insurgents in Bangladesh, a part of which was the recent unsuccessful attempt on the life of ULFA commander-in chief Paresh Baruah, sources said.
In yet another major development, more than 200 cadres of the ULFA have shifted from Bhutan till Thursday last week, and have set up temporary bases in the jungles of the Pavoi Wildlife Sanctuary along the Assam-Bhutan border. They are now on the move towards Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. According to the sources, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) is supposed to provide them safe passage to Myanmnar. Meanwhile, according to reports, ULFA cadres are now being seen in and around the island of Majuli in Upper Assam, where they are said to be stocking up on medical supplies for their comrades who have shifted from Bhutan. At present, the ULFA has 12 while the NDFB has eight camps, mostly in the Samdrup Jongkhar area of southern Bhutan bordering Assam. The latest exodus of the militants from Bhutan is reminiscent of similar cadre movement from militant camps, in areas such as Lakhipathar in Upper Assam, following similar media publicity given the possibility of Army operations being launched against the insurgents in the state. In the subsequent launching of Operation Bajrang, the Army faced little resistance from the ULFA cadres, most of whom had shifted from their camps in Lakhipathar and other such areas, leaving behind only a token presence. This had resulted in hardly any members of the upper hierarchy being apprehended.
This is being done even as the King has offered the fig leaf of talks to the ultras in a last-ditch effort to find a peaceful solution to the issue of insurgents of the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) operating from Bhutan's soil. India and Bhutan have agreed to work closely on the security situation, with New Delhi providing intelligence and logistical support to operations against Bhutan-based militants. A similar strategy may also be drawn up to deal with insurgents in Bangladesh, a part of which was the recent unsuccessful attempt on the life of ULFA commander-in chief Paresh Baruah, sources said.
In yet another major development, more than 200 cadres of the ULFA have shifted from Bhutan till Thursday last week, and have set up temporary bases in the jungles of the Pavoi Wildlife Sanctuary along the Assam-Bhutan border. They are now on the move towards Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. According to the sources, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) is supposed to provide them safe passage to Myanmnar. Meanwhile, according to reports, ULFA cadres are now being seen in and around the island of Majuli in Upper Assam, where they are said to be stocking up on medical supplies for their comrades who have shifted from Bhutan. At present, the ULFA has 12 while the NDFB has eight camps, mostly in the Samdrup Jongkhar area of southern Bhutan bordering Assam. The latest exodus of the militants from Bhutan is reminiscent of similar cadre movement from militant camps, in areas such as Lakhipathar in Upper Assam, following similar media publicity given the possibility of Army operations being launched against the insurgents in the state. In the subsequent launching of Operation Bajrang, the Army faced little resistance from the ULFA cadres, most of whom had shifted from their camps in Lakhipathar and other such areas, leaving behind only a token presence. This had resulted in hardly any members of the upper hierarchy being apprehended.