Myanmar army moves closer to border with India in a bid to choke North-East insurgents

NEW DELHI: Closing in on the militant camps operating in Myanmar, the army of that country has positioned itself nearer Indian border in a bid to choke the supply route of insurgents after surgical strikes by Indian forces earlier this month.

The current operation is aimed at insurgent camps operating in Taga of Myanmar which requires seven days of travel through dense jungles from Indo-Myanmar border, official sources said here.

Taga has camps of several insurgent outfits including NSCN(K) and UNLP, they said.

The sources said that by positioning themselves along the border with India, Myanmar's forces are not allowing anyone from Indian side to carry ration more than two kilograms to cross the border which is expected to leave the insurgents short of supplies.

The presence of Myanmar's forces has helped increase vigil along the border with Indian forces already keeping a hawk's eye on the movement in the hilly areas, they said.

The insurgents operating in North Eastern region of the country often threaten villagers asking them to provide them with daily provision, food supplies and intelligence about the movement of forces, they said.

This movement of villagers has now been blocked because of the increased presence of uniformed men on both sides of the border having a difficult terrain and dense forests which provide a hideout to the insurgents and their informers.

The coming of the two forces close to each other on either side of the border will also increase the understanding between them which will further facilitate smooth carrying out of operations against the insurgents, they said.

In an attack claimed to be surgical strikes, Indian army commandos had hit two camps of insurgents at two locations along the Nagaland and Manipur borders with Myanmar, inflicting serious damage on insurgents.

The action was in retaliation to an attack on an army convoy in Chandel in Manipur on June 4 when 18 soldiers were killed.

It was noticed that insurgents would sneak in from across the border to carry out their strikes and then return there, they said while justifying the cross-border assault.

NSCN(K), which reneged from a ceasefire in March, has been involved in a series of attacks in tandem with some other militant groups under the banner of ' United Liberation Front of South East Asia'.