Drone, missile strikes kill 3 Ulfa leaders in Myanmar, Indian Army denies role

India Today

a day ago

The proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) or Ulfa (I), which is involved in a secessionist movement against India, claimed that three of its top leaders were killed, and several others injured in drone and missile strikes in Myanmar's Sagaiang region. The terrorist organisation issued statements on Sunday and blamed the attacks on its mobile camps on the Indian Army. The Army denied any role in the attacks, while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state's police weren't involved in any such strike.advertisementThe anti-talks Ulfa (I) faction seeks to establish a sovereign Assam through armed struggle and operates from multiple mobile camps in Myanmar, along the 1,600-kilometre border with India.The Paresh Barua-led faction has reduced numbers and influence when compared to the heydays of militancy of the 80s. Internal rifts and the government's engagement with the pro-talks faction have further curtailed Barua's strength on the ground in Assam.150 DRONES, MISSILES USED TO KILL 3 TOP LEADERS, SAYS ULFA
According to a statement issued by the outlawed secessionist group, the first strike occurred in the early hours of Sunday, targeting multiple mobile camps with drones in Myanmar.The outfit claimed that Nayan Asom alias Nayan Medhi, the chairman of Ulfa(I)'s so-called "lower council", was killed in the drone attack, and around 19 others were injured, reported news agency PTI.The Ulfa-I claimed the attacks came in waves between 2 am and 4 am, involving over 150 Israeli and French-made drones, according to a report in The Times of India.
Drone and missile strikes, as claimed by the Ulfa, hit camps near Longwa and Pangsau Pass along the India-Myanmar border. (Image: Author)
The Ulfa-I said that after Nayan Asom was killed, Ganesh Asom and Pradip Asom were killed in a second drone strike during the former's funeral.News agency PTI reported that it was the second attack, during which missiles were launched, that killed the other two top leaders, self-styled brigadier Ganesh Asom and self-styled colonel Pradip Asom.The alleged aerial attacks, as claimed by Ulfa-I and Manipur's Revolutionary People's Front (RPF), were spread across the India-Myanmar border near Longwa in Nagaland and Pangsau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh, reported The Times of India.ARMY, ASSAM CM DENIES INVOLVEMENT, KNOWLEDGE OF ALLEGED ATTACKSThe Indian Army denied any knowledge or role in such an operation in Myanmar."There are no inputs with the Indian Army of such an operation," Guwahati-based Defence PRO, Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, was quoted as saying by the news agency.advertisementAssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also serves as the state's home minister, ruled out any involvement by the state police or operations launched from within Assam."The Assam Police is not involved in it and no attack has been carried out from our soil," Sarma said.He added that such operations, if conducted, are usually acknowledged by the armed forces."More information is required on the matter... I think it will be clearer by evening," Sarma was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.The Indian Army and the paramilitary Assam Rifles guard the 1,643-kilometre-long India-Myanmar border, which has been affected by civil war since the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021.As of now, there is no independent confirmation of the attack or the deaths reported by Ulfa(I).The Indian Army has not issued any formal statement beyond the denial of knowledge, and there has been no response from Myanmar's side either, where the Ulfa(I) has long operated from hideouts along the border.India had in 2019 carried out joint cross-border operations with Myanmar codenamed Operation Sunrise, targeting insurgent camps of groups like Ulfa(I), Naga militant outfit NSCN, and other Northeast rebel groups. However, no such operation has been officially acknowledged in the current instance.- Ends
advertisement