Ceasefire with NSCN(K) was abrogated in March
Representational image
New Delhi: Some TV reports claimed that a leader from the NSCN(K) faction had led the attack on Army in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers. The government’s probe into the ambush will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Defence sources confirmed that a massive offensive had already been launched to hunt down the militants responsible for the ambush. Even the militants perhaps had not imagined that they would be able to inflict such damage, which was possible due to a quirk of fate when they managed to successfully target the first vehicle due to which the soldiers in the subsequent vehicles were trapped.
According to reports, about 50 heavily-armed militants carried out the attack. Manipur-based militant groups People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) are suspected to have been involved in the attack. Recently, several militant groups in the region formed a unified group named the United National Liberation Front of Western Southeast Asia (UNLFW) — comprising the NSCN(K) and three other different groups — and it is suspected that this umbrella group may have played a role in the attacks.
Sources said there seems to have been meticulous recce by the militants at least three weeks in advance but that this went unnoticed points to a massive intelligence failure. “There is no doubt about that,” said an officer. Home minister Rajnath Singh had earlier ordered an all-out offensive to trace and eliminate the militants involved in the massacre of the Armymen in Manipur. According to a Reuters report, the Army operation involved hundreds of soldiers on foot backed by helicopters in the remote mountainous forests close to the border with Myanmar.
Meanwhile, the Army Chief - who was himself earlier posted in the Northeast and knows the area extremely well - was briefed by top officers of the Dimapur (Nagaland)-based 3 Corps, news agency reports from Imphal said, adding that a detailed operation plan is being worked out for sustained and targeted operations against the insurgents.
Irom Sharmila condemns killing of jawans:
Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who was here to appear in a hearing of the case in which she is facing trial for allegedly trying to commit suicide during her fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar in 2006, condemned the ambush on an Army convoy and called it inhumane.
However, she also maintained that Armed Forces Special Powers Act did not protect anyone and needed to be repealed immediately. Ms Sharmila is on a fast for over 14 years in Manipur demanding repeal of the Afspa.
( Source : dc correspondent/pti )
Next Story
