ULFA-I accuses Indian drones of attacking them in Myanmar; Army denies allegations

NEW DELHI: The separatist organisation ULFA-I has claimed that its senior leaders were killed in a drone attack in the Sagaing region of Myanmar. According to ULFA-I’s Myanmar unit, the deceased leaders are Nayan Asom, Ganesh Asom, and Pradeep Asom. ULFA alleges that the attack was carried out by the Indian Army using drones.

ULFA-I claims that around 150 Israeli-French-made drones attacked their mobile camps in the Sagaing region, resulting in the deaths of the senior leaders. However, the Indian Army has clarified that no such attack, as described by ULFA, took place either along the India-Myanmar border — where ULFA and Manipur’s Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) are known to be active — or in nearby areas like Longwa in Nagaland and Pangsau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to ULFA-I, three drone strikes occurred between 2 am and 4 am. The first attack allegedly killed Nayan Asom. A second attack reportedly took place during his funeral, injuring 19 people. However, Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Rawat, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, told national media that there is no information about any such attacks.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the police also responded that they are unaware of any such incident. It is assumed that the issue may be part of the ongoing internal conflict in the region.