Guwahati: The anti-talk faction of outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (Ulfa-I) led by Paresh Baruah on Sunday said that a missile attack, carried out by Indian army on its camp in Myanmar, killed its two top commanders.
The outfit in a statement to a local newspaper said that the attack was carried out during the funeral ceremony of one of its senior-most leaders self-style Lieutenant General Nayan Asom, who was killed in an alleged drone attack by the Indian army early on Sunday morning.
The Ulfa-I claimed that its top leaders Ganesh Asom and Pradip Asom lost their lives in the “cruel and inhuman” missile attack. The outfit further stated that several other members, as well as some civilians, were injured in the offensives.
“The occupational forces have continued the attack in the areas using fighter jets. We would like to tell the indigenous people of Assam that we are determined to avenge this brutal attack carried out by the colonial nation,” the Ulfa-I said in a statement.
However, Guwahati-based defence spokesman Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said, “There is no input with the Indian Army on the operation.”
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that he was aware of the statement issued by Ulfa-I. “The Assam Police is not involved. No attack was carried out from Assam’s soil. Defence authorities usually issue a statement after such operations. They have not issued any statement as yet. I think we will have some clarity by the evening,” he said.
The Ulfa-I refers to Indian security forces as “occupational forces” and India as a “colonial nation.” It operates out of the soil of Myanmar, where several insurgent groups from India’s Northeast have their camps.
The outfit also claimed that aerial attacks by fighter aircraft are still going on in specific locations within its operational zones. The outfit warned to take “revenge” for what it termed a “cruel violation of humanitarian norms,” and called upon the people of Assam to remain aware of the intensifying aggression by state forces.