North East militant groups revive B

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Subject: North East militant groups revive Burma front

North East militant groups revive Burma front
Ulfa, NSCN in rejuvenated body, call for strike on Aug. 15

By Rezaul H. Laskar
Asian Age Newspaper, August 13, 1999

New Delhi, Aug. 12: Major rebel groups of the Northeast, including the
Ulfa and the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland, have revived the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front and jointly
called a ?general strike? on Independence day.

The decision to revive the IBRF, which had been inactive over the past
few years due to differences between the rebel groups, was taken at a
meeting held in Burma late last month, sources said.

The meeting was attended by senior leaders of the United Liberation
Front of Asom, NSCN (Khaplang), Manipur People?s Liberation Front,
People?s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, Revolutionary People?s
Front, United National Liberation Front and Tripura People?s Democratic
Front.

The groups decided to step up their campaign against security forces in
the entire region and to target the transport and communication
infrastructure, particularly the railways, in the period leading up to
August 15. Arabinda Rajkhowa, the Ulfa chairman, and Ranjit Deb Barma,
the TPDF president, issued a statement on behalf of these groups on
August 6, calling a ?general strike? from midnight on August 14 to 5
p.m. on August 15.

The statement also called on other rebel groups to ?join the common
campaign?. The Ulfa and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland have
formed a ?coordination committee? and issued a joint statement on August
6 to boycott Independence Day celebrations in Assam.

Significantly, rebel groups began a fresh campaign of violence, attack
trains and convoys of the security forces, almost immediately after the
statements were issued. Over the past six days, militants attacked the
same number of trains. In the past 24 hours, militants killed at least
nine people, including five army personnel, blew up a railway bridge in
Assam.

Ulfa militants blew up an Army vehicle using powerful explosives in the
Sonitpur district on Wednesday, killing two army personnel on the spot
and injuring nine others. Of the injured, three soldiers died later in
hospital.

In Tripura, six villagers were shot dead and two others injured in one
of the worst militant attacks at Manu in the Dhalai district on
Thursday.

The militants entered a predominantly non-tribal village in the early
hours and fired indiscriminately, killing two people on the spot. Before
leaving, the militants abducted four persons who were later killed in a
nearby jungle.

Union Home Minister L.K. Advani reviewed the situation in Northeast
during a special meeting on Monday, which was also attended by the Army
Chief, General V.P. Malik, and senior home ministry and intelligence
officers.

Sources said that a decision had been made on the redeployment of
security forces closer to railway tracks and important infrastructure
facilities.