Guwahati, June 12: Indian intelligence agencies have pinpointed locations of at least 17 camps of NE militants inside Myanmar.
A source said the locations of these camps are within the 40km radius from the India-Myanmar border. But he did not disclose the names of the areas or outfits.
India and Myanmar share a 1,643km-long border — Arunachal Pradesh (520km), Nagaland (215km), Manipur (398km) and Mizoram (510km).
Almost all militant outfits of the region, which include NSCN (Khaplang), Ulfa(I), NDFB(S) and all Meitei outfits, are known to have camps in Myanmar’s western front. The camps are reportedly in the Taga area across the Tirap-Changlang-Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and across the border with Manipur and Nagaland.
The NSCN (Khaplang) has always been based in Myanmar with Khaplang being a Hemi Naga tribesman from Myanmar. He also has a ceasefire agreement with Myanmar, which was signed in 2012. The Meitei groups moved across the border after counter insurgency operations were stepped up in Manipur over the years, while Ulfa and NDFB shifted base after rebels of these outfits were flushed out of Bhutan in 2003.
“The nearest camp is just 6 to 7km from the international border and the rest are scattered within the 40-km range. There are exact coordinates of the locations of all these camps,” the source said.
On Thursday, Union home minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting on the situation in the northeast, which was attended by defence minister Manohar Parrikar, national security adivser (NSA) Ajit Doval, vice-chief of the Army, Lt Gen Philip Campos, and officials from intelligence agencies.
The source said Indian intelligence agencies have also identified a few Myanmar-based Chinese NGOs who are helping NE militant groups in various ways.
(Courtesy TNN)
