Three weeks after Bhutan had cadres of the outlawed ULFA, NDFB and KLO on the run from the kingdom, Myanmar troops have begun targeting North East insurgent camps in north-west Myanmar, responding to pressure from New Delhi for a crackdown. Although Indian officials could not confirm any military action across the border, Ngaimong, a spokesman for a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), told Reuters over telephone: ‘‘Myanmarese troops have attacked our camps since Sunday morning and more troops have been advancing towards us.’’ He said there was heavy fighting in the Tenup Tephal Joku valley in the Sagaing area of north-west Myanmar. Intelligence reports reaching Guwahati also spoke of the Myanmar Army advancing on hideouts and camps of the NSCN and ULFA. Meanwhile, there are also reports that Bangladesh security forces have raided houses in Dhaka and detained some ULFA leaders in the last three days. There’s no official acknowledgement though of such reports by Dhaka. North-East insurgents have been using Bangladesh as a safe haven and Indian officials estimate that as many as 80 insurgent camps exist there. Army chief Gen N C Vij, while in Guwahati last Saturday, had hinted at a Bhutan-type operation in Myanmar to flush out insurgents. India, Vij said, enjoyed a ‘‘very good’’ relationship with Myanmar and had even trained its security personnel. The last time Myanmar cracked down on NSCN and ULFA cadres was in 1995. But the recent Bhutan operations saw many ULFA militants — Gen Vij called their number ‘‘reasonable’’ — entering Myanmar via Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Reports reaching Guwahati said NSCN (K)’s leader S S Khaplang was currently at the outfit’s general headquarters inside Myanmar which also has an important ULFA camp in its vicinity. Intelligence officials say that the number of North East militants there could be 700-1,000, the majority from the NSCN (K). — (with Reuters)
