TAMU, MYANMAR: Separatist militants in northeastern India said the Indian army carried out cross-border drone strikes on the group’s camps in neighboring Myanmar on Sunday, killing three of its leaders.
Some separatist groups in northeastern India have ethnic, linguistic, and cultural ties with minorities across the border in Myanmar and maintain a presence there.
Three commanders of the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) were killed and 19 others wounded in a drone attack in Myanmar near the border, the separatist group said in a series of statements.
According to Indian outlet The Hindustan Times, the ULFA-I claimed that three of its members were killed in the attack that used over 150 Israeli-made drones.
In a statement, the ULFA-I claimed that the attack by “Indian occupational forces” took place at several camps from the border with Myanmar near Longwa in Nagaland till Pangsai Pass in Arunachal Pradesh between 2am (1:30am PKT) and 4am (3:30am PKT) on Sunday.
The outfit claimed that nearly 150-plus drones used in the attack were manufactured in Israel and France. It said the attacks claimed the life of the outfit’s lieutenant general Nayan Medhi (alias Nayan Asom), and injured 19 others.
In a second release, the ULFA-I said that two more leaders, “Brigadier Ganesh Asom and Colonel Pradip Asom, were killed in a subsequent missile attack.”
“While the last rites of Nayan Asom were being carried out, missile attacks were carried out in which Ganesh Asom and Pradip Asom became martyrs and several officers, cadres and civilians sustained injuries,” the statement issued on Sunday said.
The ULFA-I statement added that Indian Army operations in the area across the border were still continuing till Sunday morning. The outfit vowed to give a befitting reply to the action on its camps.
Indian daily The Hindu reported that, according to the group, the subsequent strikes were carried out with missiles and struck a funeral for the commander killed in the drone attack.
Indian authorities have yet to confirm the strikes.
Camps belonging to another rebel group, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), were also targeted, the ULFA-I added.
The ULFA-I is one of several insurgent groups in India, and wants independence for the northeastern state of Assam, while the PLA advocates for the secession of Manipur state.
One faction of the ULFA laid down arms and signed a peace deal with the Indian government in 2023. According to the Indian outlet The Deccan Herald, the group was split, with those against talks making up the ULFA-I faction.
Separatist attacks have drastically reduced in recent years, but the violence has killed thousands of people, mostly civilians, over the last three decades.
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