Fresh ULFA (I) Movement Detected: One Militant Killed in Namsai Operation

A top ULFA (Independent) cadre was killed by bullets late on Tuesday night when a joint counter-insurgency operation was conducted by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh. The operation, undertaken on the intervening night of October 21–22, resulted in an encounter of fire at the thick forest cover of the MS-6 area, near the Assam-Arunachal boundary.

The remains of SS Sergeant Major Iwon Axom, who was a trained operative of ULFA (I), were found in the course of a search operation at dawn on Wednesday. Security forces also apprehended one rifle, one RPG round and three rucksacks from the site of the encounter, affirming the existence of a militant group suspected to be making attempts at infiltration into Upper Assam.

As per Defence PRO Guwahati, the operation continues, and further security columns have been pushed in with support from Assam Police and the CRPF to seal possible routes of escape and neutralise any remaining militants in the sector.

Security Build-Up Since Lekhapani Joint Command Meeting

The meeting is only a few days after a top-level Security Operational Group meeting at Lekhapani on October 18 to discuss increasing insurgent movement along the Assam–Arunachal–Nagaland corridor. The meet was attended by top Indian Army, Assam Rifles, Assam Police, intelligence agencies and civil administration officers.

Sources confirmed that the meeting was on joint operational planning, intensification of surveillance along wooded transit corridors, cross-border traffic from Myanmar, and attempts by insurgents to regroup following new inputs on ULFA (I) activity.

With AFSPA just renewed in areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, security personnel were already on high alert. At the Lekhapani meeting, a high-ranking Assam Rifles officer apparently emphasized the importance of "maintaining operational pressure and real-time intelligence sharing" to avert militant attacks. 

Bigger Operation to Seal Valley Entrances

Officials believe that Iwon Axom was part of a small ULFA (I) reconnaissance and logistics team attempting to move towards Tinsukia and Charaideo districts via Namsai—routes long used by insurgents to slip into Assam from Myanmar through Arunachal Pradesh.

“We are pursuing strong leads on remaining cadres in the vicinity. Search operations are continuing and the area has been cordoned off,” the Defence PRO said.

Recovery of an RPG round has also created fear of repeated efforts by the proscribed group to infiltrate heavy arms in Assam. Intelligence units are now studying whether the group was connected with Myanmar-based insurgent groups operating in the Sagaing region.

Joint Forces Continue Area Domination

With winter setting in—seasonally a period when insurgent activity increases with better visibility through more open terrain—security agencies have decided to step up area domination patrols, especially in sensitive areas of Namsai, Changlang, Tirap and Longding, which have traditionally functioned as insurgent corridors.

A high-ranking security official informed this publication that "operations in the sector will continue in the days to come as part of a coordinated crackdown", suggesting potential follow-up attacks based on intelligence gains from the site of the encounter. 

Further updates are awaited as the operation unfolds.

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