Northeast rebels flee camps after Myanmar Army offensive

GUWAHATI: Insurgent groups, operating out of the soil of Myanmar, have been cornered following an offensive by Myanmar Army. 

According to reports reaching here, the operation was launched at Taga in Myanmar’s Sagaing division to flush out militants belonging to Yung Aung faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), one faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and some Manipuri groups.

The reports said in the wake of the raids, the rebels’ fled their camps. There are unconfirmed reports that at least one insurgent was killed and a few others were apprehended.

The offensive was launched on January 29 when the Myanmar Army raided the headquarters of NSCN (Yung Aung faction) which made the rebels to flee. Subsequently, it took control of everything including the rebels’ headquarters, agricultural land and livestock. Similar raids were also carried out at the camps of other rebel groups from the Northeast.

“They (Myanmar Army) carry out such operations every year. So, this is not new,” a defence source said

The SS Khaplang faction of NSCN, known as NSCN-K, had signed a truce pact with Myanmar government in 2012 and was allowed to set up a liaison office in the town of Hkamti. Ever since then, there has not been any armed confrontation between the two sides.

Khaplang died in 2017 and months later, the outfit suffered a split with its then chief Khango Konyak, who is an Indian Naga, being impeached by the Myanmarese Naga rebels in the outfit.

The Konyak-led faction, which is made up of Indian Nagas, joined the peace process in India recently. However, NSCN (Yung Aung faction), which is made up of mostly Nagas from Myanmar, continue to wield the gun.

The Naga rebels have been for many years operating out of the jungles of Myanmar. The border areas inside Myanmar have a sizeable Naga population and the rebels claim they are the owners of Naga-inhabited areas.

About 15 years ago, they started sheltering members of ULFA and other insurgent groups from the Northeast there and provide them with arms training. In 2015, they floated a united front called United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia or UNLFW.