Top ULFA(I) leaders killed in ‘drone strikes’ on Myanmar camp

Several top cadres of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), or ULFA(I), including its third-in-command Nayan Mehdi, have reportedly been killed in suspected drone strikes at one of the outfit’s camps inside Myanmar.

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The camp, located about 15 km east of the India-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district, was hit in the early hours in what appear to have been coordinated drone attacks.

While ULFA(I) has accused the Army of carrying out the strikes, official sources in New Delhi have denied any role by the Army in the operation, , a news agency quoted ULFA (I).

In a statement, ULFA(I) said multiple mobile camps along the Myanmar border were targeted by drones. It claimed that senior leader Nayan Mehdi, also known as Nayan Asom, who held the self-styled rank of Lieutenant General, was killed, and around 19 others were injured.

The outfit alleged that more than 150 drones were used in the attack, and that they were manufactured in Israel and France. ULFA(I) further claimed that during Mehdi’s funeral, fresh drone strikes killed two more senior cadres — ‘Brigadier’ Ganesh Asom and ‘Colonel’ Pradip Asom.

Unconfirmed reports from Myanmar also suggest that camps belonging to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), or NSCN(K), may have come under attack as well. The ULFA(I) and NSCN(K) are known to share camps in Myanmar’s Sagaing region.

The ULFA(I), led by fugitive Paresh Baruah, continues to reject negotiations with the Indian government unless the issue of Assam’s sovereignty is brought to the table. It has referred to New Delhi as a “colonial power” and the Indian armed forces as “occupational forces”.

The Army and paramilitary Assam Rifles currently guard the 1,643-km India-Myanmar border.

The ULFA(I) remains the only active insurgent group from Assam that has neither entered into peace talks nor signed any agreement with the government.