| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Central Asia | |
| Bhutan ’seizes top Indian rebels’ | |
| 2003-12-19 | |
Bhutanese troops have captured seven senior Indian rebel leaders during fierce fighting. Five other leaders, including the founder of a rebel group, have died fighting the troops in southern Bhutan.
For their first operation, this is pretty damm good. All the senior rebel leaders killed and captured in the latest fighting belonged to the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a Bhutanese military official told the BBC. One of the dead rebels is the founder of (Ulfa), Bhimkanta Buragohain. Among those arrested is Bening Rabha, who was in charge of the Ulfa bases in Bhutan and a top leader of the group’s military wing. Senior leaders Apruba Deka, Satish Hazarika and Ranjit Hazarika are reported to have been killed. Sounds like they nailed most of the leadership. Bhutan has rejected an offer by the rebel groups to move out of their bases if the army operation against them is halted. "We’re winning, why stop now?" "Troops have arrested more than 150 rebels, including some leaders, and many more are expected to surrender," a Bhutanese official said. The Royal Bhutan Army has started handing over the rebels to India, the Indian army chief said. "The first batch of seven arrested militants has been handed over. The rest will follow," army chief Nirmal Chand Vij told BBC. The three rebel groups have called for a two-day strike beginning Saturday demanding the return of the bodies of their fighters to the families. A joint statement by the groups said the strike would be "indefinite" if the bodies of the fighters were not returned. I don’t think you have much leverage about now. A rebel group in the north-eastern state of Tripura told the BBC that they would be sending 100 fighters to join the rebels fighting Bhutanese forces as a "mark of solidarity". Oh, that’s a real smart move. The group All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) has shared a close relationship with Ulfa. The three rebel groups involved in the fighting are Ulfa, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). Ulfa is fighting for Assam’s independence from India while the NDFB and the KLO are Why can’t you all just get along? About 6,000 Bhutanese troops have destroyed almost all of the 30 rebel camps in the country during the offensive. The camps were said to have sheltered about 3,000 rebels. Indian troops have been deployed on the country’s border with Bhutan to prevent rebels from fleeing into India. "We are sealing the border on our side so that anyone who is trying to escape this side can be apprehended," said the Indian army chief. Hammer, meet anvil. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Bodoland? |
| Posted by: Matt D 2003-12-19 1:30:42 PM |