NEW DELHI: Guerillas of the Nagatribe in India’s northeast am bushed an Indian Army convoy June29and killed at least 32 people in one of their biggest strikes against a military target, officials said,
“It was a massive operation and well laid,” said Haresh Goswami, the Chief Secretary of Manipur State where the attack was carried out as the convoy traveled through thick forests.
Goswami said in a telephone interview from Imphal, the state capital, that the powerful faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland was responsible for the ambush. It has bases in Myanmar, formerly Rurma, in pockets of northeast India and along the border with Bangladesh,
The state secretary said that army: reinforcements were rushed to the area, about 1,100 miles east of New Delhi, and that search operations against the rebels were continuing.
The Naga council has emerged as one of southern Asia’s major insurgent groups, with a well-trained guerilla force of about 2,000 men and women, The guerrillas seek independence from India as do other rebels from the mineral rich but industrially underdeveloped northeast, which borders along China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh, The area is connected to India by a narrow land corridor In the ambush Tuesday, at least 22 soldiers were killed when the guerillas sprayed automatic weapons fire at the trucks. A truck car racing explosives was hit and blew up, killing and wounding others. Go swami said at least two guecillas were killed when the troops returned fire.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 9, 1993
