Encounter underway between Indian Army and NSCN(K) along Indo-Myanmar border

[hassamun]

Special forces of the Indian Army conducted an operation against NSCN (K) in Longding district along the Indo-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh. An NSCN(K) cadre has been killed in the encounter and one Army personnel injured. The Army has recovered an AK-56, a radio set, and a hand grenade, along with live bullets. A combing operation is underway.

Speaking to the media this afternoon, after a meeting with MoS Home Kiren Rijiju, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said it was a routine operation. “It’s a normal, routine operation. Such operations happen everyday. There’s nothing big about them.”

The operation took place around 7.30 am, news agency ANI reported.

In a tweet this noon, Indian Army’s Eastern Command said: “Dao Div neutralised Honcham Wangsa, self styled Corporal of NSCN-K near Kunsa Vill, Arunachal Pradesh.”

Defence spokesman Colonel Chiranjit Konwer said, “The security forces had launched the operation following specific input about the presence of NSCN(K) rebels near Votnu village in the district. The forces came under heavy fire from the rebels and retaliated in which one militant was killed and another was injured.”

The other militants made good their escape into the dense forest nearby. During the search, the forces located the temporary hideout and destroyed it, Konwer said.

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...ian-army-and-nscnk-along-indo-myanmar-border/

 

[hassamun]

Indian Army action near Myanmar's border: A day before PM Modi visit

At least one Naga militant was killed and another one injured in an Indian Army ambush in the bordering areas of Arunachal Pradesh, on the eve of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first bilateral visit to Myanmar.

The operation involving the Special Forces at Wakka in the Longding district, near India's border with Myanmar, began early in the morning and continues late in the evening. Indian Army officials confirmed the killing of one militant and recovery of an AK-47 rifle with ammunitions.

The Army sources, however, denied the operation being a cross-border one. They said it took place inside the Indian territory.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat briefed the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju about the operation that began around 7.30 AM. "It was a normal encounter. These operations go on every day. Nothing big about this operation," Gen Rawat said after his meeting with Rijiju.

Sources said based on specific intelligence an ambush was planned to capture NSCN (K) militants near Votnu village. However, because of the early morning fog, the cordon was relocated when the first contact with the militant took place. In the firing, one Indian soldier was also injured.

“The operations are in progress in the hinterland. It is nowhere close to the Indo-Myanmar border. It's a typical counter-insurgency operation,” said an Army officer.

The anti-insurgency operation takes place a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in Nay Pyi Daw for his first bilateral visit to the neighbouring country. India maintains a close relation with Myanmar on security issues.

In June 2015, Indian Army is believed to have carried out a surgical strike on the Naga militants inside the Myanmar territory, to avenge the killing of 18 men from the Dogra regiment of the Indian Army in an ambush at Chandel in Manipur. Army maintained that the operation took place near the Indo-Myanmar border and not inside the territory of another country.

A year later, Naga militants in August 2016 claimed that a team of Indian army commandos crossed inside Myanmar territory and attacked an NSCN (K) camp – a charge that was denied by the Indian Army, which maintained the operation took place near the border.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/631390/indian-army-action-near-myanmars.html