In a body blow to Northeast insurgent groups, Myanmar handed over 22 Northeast insurgents to India on Friday. In a display of growing defence and security co-operation between India and Myanmar, the terrorists wanted in the North-eastern states of Manipur and Assam were brought back to India in a special plane, as per Hindustan Times.
The plane first landed in Imphal and further proceeded to Assam’s Guwahati, as the insurgents were handed over to the local police in both the sates. The operation, driven by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, has taken bilateral ties and military cooperation between India and Myanmar to new highs.
Speaking about the development, a top government official said, “This is a huge step for the Myanmar government and a reflection of the deepening ties between the two countries.” Another official said, “This is the first time that the Myanmar government has acted on India’s request to hand over leaders of the northeast insurgent groups.”
Of the 22 insurgents, 12 are associated with four terror groups active in Manipur- UNLF, PREPAK (Pro), KYKL and PLA, while the other ten are associated with insurgent groups in Assam such as NDFB (S) and KLO.
India and Myanmar already share warm relations when it comes to cracking down on terror groups that have established camps in Myanmar. The two countries co-operate closely in the security sector- conducting joint operations and striking on insurgent outfits.
The bilateral ties have deepened ever since the Modi government came to power in the year 2014, and in fact, in 2015 the Indian Army’s Para SF unit, based in the north-east carried, had carried out a precise attack on an NSCN (K) camp located inside Myanmar eliminating at least 60 insurgents in the process.
Later, sources had told the Indian Express that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had facilitated the surgical strikes by reaching out to Myanmar and securing the permission of its government. New Delhi had secured Myanmar’s assent to fly in the Special Forces 15 to 20 kilometres inside Burmese territory and to conduct the operations in the dense forests of Myanmar’s western Sagaing division.
In the years ahead, India has managed to secure even closer cooperation with Myanmar under NSA Ajit Doval’s leadership. Last year, the Armies of two countries conducted joint operations between February 17 and March 2 to thwart the threats anticipated by the Rohingya terror group, the Arakan Army and Naga terror group, Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang [NSCN(K)].
The countries launched a massive crackdown destroying several camps of the terror organisations during the two weeks-long joint strikes, in a first of its kind initiative by the two countries.
Later in the months of the Armies of India and Myanmar again conducted coordinated strikes called ‘Operation Sunshine-2’, this time on their respective sides of the border. The coordinated military operation between May 16 and June 8 had resulted in heavy damage to the camps of Northeast-based insurgent groups active inside the Burmese territory.
This was a follow-up to ‘Operation Sunshine-1′ between February 22 and 26, when the Indian Army had struck Arakanese terror camps inside Indian territory, and the Myanmar Army had coordinated with the Indian Army to arrest those fleeing the strikes into Myanmar.
India and Myanmar have managed to enhance their intelligence-sharing and joint strike operations striking directly on the Rohingya terror group- the Arakan Army and Northeast insurgent groups that have established camps in Myanmar.
This is one of the biggest exploits of India’s Superspy– NSA Ajit Doval. Doval himself has rich experience when it comes to combating insurgent groups in the North-east. Early into his career as a mid-level Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, he had managed to infiltrate the underground Mizo National Front (MNF)- Laldenga’s outfit which was then waging a war against the Indian State. Doval had managed to defect 6 out of 7 MNF commanders leading to the Mizo Accord of 1986 ending 20 years of insurgency.
Doval is now using all his experience to ensure extensive cooperation with Myanmar in order to annihilate Northeast insurgent camps in both India and Myanmar, and now even secure transfer of insurgents into Indian custody. Indo-Myanmar cooperation is thus uprooting insurgent groups in the Northeast at a breakneck speed.