JOIN USUlfa (I), NSCN and RPF claim responsibility for attack on Assam Rifles men
Three insurgent groups in the Northeast--NSCN, Ulfa (Independent), and RPF (PLA) on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack on an Assam Rifles personnel in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday in which one jawan was killed and another injured.
A statement emailed by the publicity wing of the Ulfa (I) said that the attack was jointly carried out as part of their protest against security forces and the government in the Western South East Asian (WeSEA) region, comprising the entire Northeast and part of Myanmar.
"The WeSEAn revolution will endure and move forward as long as India illegally occupies and dominates our grievances," said the statement claiming that two jawans were killed on the spot while some others were injured. They claim that this region was independent and was illegally occupied by India.
Militants lobbed grenades and opened fire on Assam Rifles personnel in a water tank near Tengmo village under Jairampur police station in Changlang district, about 300-km from the capital Itanagar, sharing a border with Myanmar. The area is used as a transit route by militant groups in the Northeast to reach their hideouts in neighbouring Myanmar.
Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts, which share the porous borders with Myanmar are still under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1987, which gives sweeping powers to security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations.
The attack came months after security forces killed six NSCN cadres in Longding district.