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Manipur : Army takes on UNLF rebels |
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The army’s offensive against United National Liberation Front (UNLF) rebels in the interiors of Manipur’s Churachandpur district intensified last week on Jan. 21 with additional reinforcements arriving from Jiribam.
There are reports of another exchange of fire between the rebels and the army in Thanlon subdivision on Jan. 21, though details were not immediately available.
The Army stepped in following reports of an exodus of Hmar villagers from Tipaimukh to villages in neighbouring Mizoram to escape UNLF rebels, who were terrorising them for allegedly sheltering Hmar militants.
The Army lost Lt Col Rajiv Bakshi of 13 Dogra Regiment in an encounter with the rebels at Parbung on Jan. 20. Four cadres of the UNLF were also killed.
The Hmar villagers, who are fleeing their native villages in hundreds, have sought refuge in the border villages of Mizoram.
A delegation representing the Hmar community left for Mizoram on Jan. 21 to assess the condition of the villagers.
Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh is believed to have contacted his Mizoram counterpart to ensure the safety of the displaced people.
Mizoram on Jan. 21 decided to set up a refugee camp at Sakardwai. A meeting chaired by state Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel decided that essential commodities would be provided to the refugees, including drinking water.
Impact on border trade
Trade resumed at the Indo-Myanmar border on Jan. 21, only to close down again when protesters stormed the “No Man’s Land” between the two countries and refused to leave the area.
There were no business transactions between the two countries since January 8 when Myanmarese authorities sealed the border following two bomb blasts at one of its border trade hubs. One person was killed and four were wounded in the twin blasts at Namphalong market.
Myanmarese authorities reopened the border and its markets at 7.30 am.
However, security forces on both sides of the border shut the gates hurriedly after 200 protesters, mostly women, rushed to the no man’s land between Manipur’s Moreh town and Namphalong at 1.30 pm after their deadline for shifting the Assam Rifles post from Moreh expired.
The women’s Joint Action Committee of Moreh, which has accused the Assam Rifles of unleashing a “reign of terror” among the local people, had earlier on Jan. 20 served an ultimatum to the state government to replace the paramilitary force with the army within 24 hours. It had threatened to shift all the residents of Moreh to the no man’s land if its demand was not met.
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