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Defence Notes

	May 26, 2008

India sends 50 medical personnel to Myanmar



India on May 17 sent an Air Force IL-76 plane with 50 medical personnel including paramedics to help relief work in cyclone-hit Myanmar.



Myanmar, which has been cautious about receiving international aid, has sought medical help from India, China, Bangladesh and Thailand.



"We have sent 50 medical personnel along with integral equipment, which means they will be self-sufficient in giving treatment," a Defence Ministry official said.



The personnel, divided into two groups of 25 members each, flew to Yangon in an Indian Air Force IL-76 plane along with four to five consignments of medicines.



"The consignments contained 5-6 tonnes of medical aid, and each consignment can cater to 1,000 people," the official added.



At least 77,738 people have been killed and 19,359 injured after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar earlier this month.



So far, India has sent to Myanmar relief material worth Rs.80 million in two ships, two AN-32 aircraft and two IL-76 aircraft of the Air Force.





Heightened vigil being kept in coastal areas: Antony



The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard are maintaining heightened vigil as the country's enemies could use coastal areas to launch anti-national activities, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in Kozhikode on May 19.



"Many forces are trying to create problems in the country, like in Jaipur. In my opinion, no state in the country is free from the terrorist threat. The central Government has asked all states to be more vigilant," Antony told reporters.



Referring to the May 13 terror attack in Jaipur, which killed at least 61 people, Antony said the terrorists were trying to sabotage India-Pakistan ties which were entering a new phase.



He said the Government was keeping a close watch on the activities of Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in south India.





MiG 21 crashes in Bengal, pilot safe



In a fifth crash of an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft this year, a MiG-21 fighter caught fire while landing at West Bengal's Bagdogra airport on May 23, but the pilot managed to eject unharmed, an official said.

"There was a technical snag in the aircraft and one of the wheels got jammed. So the pilot belly landed. Because it was landing at such a high speed, the aircraft caught fire," Defence Ministry spokesperson R.K. Das said in Kolkata.



The Bagdogra airport is a military facility that is open for civilian flights as well. It is located 16 km from Siliguri town in West Bengal's Darjeeling district.



"The aircraft has been destroyed completely. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the cause of the crash," an Air Force official in New Delhi said.





16 civilians killed in Sri Lanka blast



At least 16 people were killed in an explosion in northern Sri Lanka on May 23, rebel sources and local media reported.



A website close to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said, 16 civilians were killed in a claymore mine attack that targeted a van in the rebel-held Kilinochchi district around 2.15 p.m.



The rebels claimed that the attack was carried out by Sri Lankan Army's Deep Penetration Unit (DPU), adding that four men, six women and six children were killed in the attack.



However, a local English newspaper, Daily Mirror, reported on its website that 17 people who were in a bus were killed in the explosion.



Government troops are currently battling the LTTE in the north with the aim of crushing the rebel group before the end of 2008.



The LTTE has been fighting the Government since the mid-1980s to establish an independent homeland for the island's Tamil minorities, resulting in the death of more than 70,000 people in more than two decades of hostilities.