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Indian troops kill seven separatists along Bhutan border

IRNA

Guwahati, Dec 26, IRNA -- At least seven Indian separatists were 
killed Thursday by federal soldiers while trying to enter the border 
state of Assam from Bhutan as the military offensive by the Buddhist 
nation has reached a crucial stage. 
An army spokesman said a group of five militants were killed early
Thursday morning when they tried to sneak into Assam through the 
thickly forested Darrangamela region, bordering southern Bhutan. 
"The militants were spotted by an army patrol and were challenged 
resulting in the death of five militants," the spokesman said. 
In another encounter, two militants were shot dead in western 
Assam`s Darrang district, bordering Bhutan. The identities of the 
militants were yet to be ascertained. 
Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, a light machine gun, besides 
radio sets and ammunition. Assam shares a 262-kilometer long unfenced 
border with Bhutan. 
The army spokesman said 21 rebels have so far been killed in 
encounters inside Assam while trying to escape the military offensive 
in Bhutan that began December 15. 
The Indian army, which helps train Bhutanese soldiers, has 
reported the deaths of 120 rebels and eight Bhutanese troops and 
logistical personnel inside the kingdom in Bhutan`s first military 
operation since 1865. 
Meanwhile, Bhutanese troops blocked all supply lines of essentials
leading to the rebel hideouts. "The rebels are now being pushed deep 
inside the jungles and very soon we are expecting them to give up with
all possible routes of food supplies blocked by our troops," a Royal 
Bhutan Army commander told IRNA by telephone from the southern Samdrup
Jhonkhar district. 
"The militants are on the run and moved deep inside the jungles 
with our troops on their trail. They cannot continue to remain in the 
kingdom for long." Bhutan says it has destroyed 30 rebel camps, adding
that militants were still hiding in heavily forested region. 
The kingdom has released no casualty figures. Two separatist 
groups from Assam - the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom 
(ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) - have 
well-entrenched bases in Bhutan. The separatist Kamatapur Liberation 
Organization (KLO) from West Bengal also has bases in Bhutan. Both 
the ULFA and the NDFB are fighting for independent homelands in Assam 
and carry out hit-and-run guerrilla strikes on Indian security forces 
from their bases in Bhutan. 
/211 
End