Army’s hot pursuit of rebels inside Myanmar signals tough policy on terror

The attacks on Indians anywhere is simply not on. In a sign of India’s muscular and proactive policy to eliminate terrorists across the borders, Special Forces of the Indian Army, in coordination with Air Force, carried out surgical strikes inside Myanmar and killed nearly 20 of the insurgents responsible for attacking a convoy of 6 Dogra regiment of the Indian Army on June 4.

The attack in Manipur had killed 20 soldiers and injured 15 and was believed to be the deadliest attack on the Indian Army in over two decades.

The operation was carried out along the India-Myanmar International border. 21 Special Commandoes – a unit under Kolkata-based Eastern Command Headquarters- along with troops of Assam Rifles, handpicked by Delhi, went deep inside Myanmar and destroyed two camps of NSCN(K) and KYKL terror outfits hiding after their attacks in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh last week.

Indian Army’s additional director general of military operations, Major General Ranbir Singh, said, “We are in communication with Myanmar authorities and we have traditionally had close relationship with the Myanmar army. We look forward to working with them to combating terrorism in future too.”

Following a 13-hour operation, in which IAF choppers and drones helped the SF soldiers kill the guerrillas, the commandos safely returned to the Indian territory. There was no casualty among the Indian soldiers.

The raid, believed to have been operational for over 48 hours, began after Indian Army received credible intelligence inputs that more attacks were being planned across the border and to be carried out in the Indian territory. Based on these intelligence reports, the Army conducted a swift operation to ravage insurgents.

India’s Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that the hot pursuit was ordered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasized that the attacks on Indians, anywhere in the world, be in Iraq or Yemen, were unacceptable. “This is a message to neighbors who harbour terrorists,” he said.

Mr Rathore underlined that any threat to India’s security, safety and national integrity will meet “a firm response” while ensuring peace and tranquility along the border and in the border states.

The operation was the brainchild of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who quietly opted out of Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Bangladesh last week, to mastermind this daring move that signals a new strategy on part of the Modi government to take on anti-India terrorists and militants.

There is a long history of insurgents carrying out small strikes in the remote northeast region, and for years, the Army has been deployed in the area bordering China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan to tackle any emergency.

Earlier, Indian troops were not known for carrying out cross-border strikes against militants. But this raid unveiled India’s new response to unconventional threats irrespective of where they emanate from.

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