Army didn’t conduct surgical strikes in Myanmar: NE rebels

IMPHAL/GUWAHATI: Myanmar-based militant groups of the northeast on Thursday refuted the Army’s claim that its paratroopers carried out surgical strikes on two insurgent camps inside Myanmar and killed many militants.
The proscribed Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), which is the political wing of People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said there was no casualty.
“The Army’s strike was launched on a PLA mobile camp on the fringes of Manipur’s Ukhrul district bordering Myanmar around 9 am on Tuesday,” said an RPF statement in Imphal.
The RPF is fighting to restore Manipur’s past sovereignty.
On the other hand, the newly-floated United National Liberation Front of Western South-East Asia (UNLFW), comprising NSCN(Khaplang), Ulfa(I), NDFB(S) and KLO, termed the Army’s claims ‘false propaganda.’
The Ulfa(I) publicity secretary, Arunodoy ‘Asom’, in a statement, said, “The attack inside Myanmar is nothing but the Centre’s cheap and false propaganda. There was just an encounter with PLA in Ukhrul district in Manipur and there was no casualty. It might be a farcical attempt to boost the morale of the Army.”
On Wednesday, NSCN(K) also rubbished the Army’s claims of high rebel casualty during the June 9 attack along the India-Myanmar border.
The RPF said PLA cadres retaliated and the Army jawans fled in fear. “There was no casualty on the side of PLA. But, bloodstains were found when the cadres ventured in the area after the encounter,” said the statement issued by RPF publicity secretary Roben Khuman. “Top officials of the Army have failed to say the truth and they have misled the people,” the statement said.