JOIN USArmy offensive gathers momentum
The Indian Army, which launched Operation All Out, a massive offensive against the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangibijit) in upper Assam, has taken significant strides in pushing the militants out of their strongholds.
Sources said the militants have suffered considerable loss since the operation began on Thursday, as the security forces have surrounded them from all sides since Friday night.
The operation, which started from Sonitpur district, close to the Arunachal Pradesh border, has been intensified with armed forces launching similar offensive in the two other affected districts of Kokrajhar and Chirang.
While officials expect the operation to end in a couple of days, the Unified Command of Indian Army and central paramilitary forces has deployed special operation teams, who are trained in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency tactics.
“The offensive is being carried out at every known stronghold of NDFB (S). Special forces have been deployed and they are combing the reserve forest areas in the region. Central paramilitary forces have deployed CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Rapid Action) commandos, who have honed their skills in Maoist-affected areas of central India and are adept in guerilla warfare,” a senior official said.
Officials also informed that around 9,000 armed forces personnel have been deployed, including forces from the Army and central paramilitary forces. “Besides Army and CoBRA commandos, three units of Assam Rifles personnel, who are also trained in jungle warfare, have been pressed into service. The borders shared by Assam with Bhutan and Myanmar have been sealed off so that militants can’t escape to their hideouts and training camps in the two neighbouring nations. The border with Arunachal has also been sealed,” the official said.
Sources, however, pointed out that the lack of proper maps of areas being combed by security forces is posing a problem in troop movements. “Forces are facing problems since the terrain is mostly mountainous and through dense forests. Also, there are no proper maps and we’ve been forced to depend on unofficial ones available to us. The area has a number of villages that have come up in the last 10 years so the layout of the jungle has also changed,” the senior official said.
Inspector General L R Bishnoi, who is in charge of Assam Police in the Bodoland Territorial District, acknowledged the current status of the operation.
He said that Seema Sashastra Bal, which is responsible for manning the Indo-Bhutan border, has been instructed to heighten vigil and ensure pressure is kept on the militants from their position.
“We’re bringing people from villages in the areas where operation is taking place to the safety of refugee camps,” he added. A source said that this would help the combing operations and keep villagers from harm’s way.
While Operation All Out is being led by the General Officer Commanding of Army’s 4 Corps from its headquarters at Tezpur, the initiative is being overseen by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, who visited Tezpur on Saturday to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, sources said that the Special Branch of Assam Police had prior knowledge of the December 23 attack by NDFB (S) militants and had shared the information with Assam Police.