Kohima, Jan 06: Security forces in Nagaland are searching for fleeing Ulfa rebels who have reportedly taken shelter in Mon district, close to Assam's Sibsagar district.
Both Assam Rifles and state police have confirmed that some Ulfa militants had sneaked into the Nagaland district following the 'operation all clear' by Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) as the outfit had close links with NSCN(K).
Mon is a stronghold of the NSCN(K), which had entered into a ceasefire in April 2001, and the close proximity to Sibsagar district, the Ulfa stronghold, facilitates the fleeing Assam militants to sneak into Nagaland.
So far, no arrest has been reported but security forces have started search operations in possible hideouts and intensified frisking of vehicles travelling from Assam to Mon district, Assam Rifles sources said.
Meanwhile, Myanmarese junta has reportedly started flushing out operation along the lines of the RBA in the northern part of that country.
Although there was no official confirmation either by the Nagaland government or the Indian security forces, NSCN(K) sources said Myanmarese army personnel are fast moving towards their camps located in Sagaing region in the Myanmar-Nagaland-Arunachal Pradesh triangle.
NSCN(K) is headquartered is northern Myanmar and has several camps in that region, where the activists of the Ulfa and Manipur-based separatist outfit UNLF are trained. NSCN(K) chairman S S Khaplang is believed to be in one of the camps.
During his visit to Yangon, vice-president B S Shekhawat had in meetings with the heads of the junta discussed the possibility of enhancing bilateral cooperation in military, exchange of intelligence, containing narcotic trafficking, besides promoting trade.
Bureau Report
