A joint force of the Army and Assam Rifles came under attack for the first time on Friday while patrolling in the remote Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh. Additional forces were deployed to the area soon after
Guwahati: The Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh saw fierce clashes between the Army and militants. Two Naga militants were killed in a series of gunfights since Friday. The deceased are believed to be members of the NSCN (Khaplang-Yungang) faction of the Naga militant organisation, according to Army sources.
A joint force of the Army and Assam Rifles came under attack for the first time on Friday while patrolling in the remote Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh. Additional forces were deployed to the area soon after. The militants fled following the Army’s retaliation, abandoning their weapons and the bodies of their two comrades. An AK-47, an M-4 automatic rifle, and a grenade launcher were recovered from the site.
Myanmar shares a border of about 1,643 km with three northeastern states, of which the Arunachal-Myanmar border is approximately 500 km long. Due to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, rebel armed group activities along the border have increased, prompting heightened surveillance by the army.
Incidentally, the Centre’s ceasefire agreement with the NSCN (IM) group, active in Nagaland and Manipur, has been in force for the past decade. However, clashes have occurred several times in recent years between the army and Assam Rifles and the NSCN (Khaplang) militant group active along the Myanmar border.
In 2017, the group’s chief, SS Khaplang, was killed in Myanmar, leading to the organisation’s fragmentation into several factions. Alongside the Arunachal-Myanmar border, the NSCN (Khaplang-Yungang) group is also active in Assam.
