[Assam] Ho1 Ho! Ho! Stratfor. What an insight!

[Bartta Bistar]

Ulfa outsourcing suicide attacks: US think tank

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=395860&sid=REG&ssid=&news=Ulfa%20outsourcing%20suicide%20attacks:%20US%20think%20tank

New Delhi, Sept 19: Ulfa has been showing a growing propensity to work with
Islamist militant groups like Huji in the northeast and has begun to
outsource operations, including suicide attacks, a leading US think tank has
said.

In its latest report "India: Ulfa abandons peace talks", Stratfor said the
Ulfa, the most powerful separatist group in the northeast India has
announced that it is giving up on the peace process and readying itself for
a full-scale battle.

"India received a wake-up call to this threat from the northeast on August
25, when twin bombings occurred in the city of Hyderabad in southern India,"
Stratfor said.

"The two prime suspects in that bombing belonged to Bangladesh-based
Islamist militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad-e- Islami, which is known to have a
working relationship with Ulfa and other northeastern insurgent groups, and
with Pakistan`s inter-services intelligence agency."

The think tank said, "The Ulfa has begun to outsource operations, including
suicide attacks, in the restive state of Assam to Islamist militant groups."

Assam police had announced the arrest of a top Ulfa leader on Monday last
even as army generals said the group is raising a new battalion in Karbi
Anglong district near the Bangladesh border to take advantage of reduced
security in that area.

Stratfor said that though Ulfa`s militant activity is confined to the
northeast, the group`s financial enterprise and strong links with Islamist
militant groups have made it a threat that New Delhi will not be able to
ignore much longer.

The think tank accused Ulfa of regularly dancing around the idea of peace
talks as it is aware New Delhi is "not serious about rewarding its militant
campaign with political concessions".

"At the same time, Ulfa prefers keeping up the militant front to maintain
its financial network and its beneficial relationship with Pakistan`s
intelligence agency that helps keep India`s hands tied. Thus, talk of
negotiations does not really hold much weight," Stratfor said.

With the government facing political pressure on its civil nuclear deal with
the US and the entry of corporate retail firms into the country, the Ulfa
likely sees this as an opportune time to put pressure on New Delhi, it
claimed.

"India`s northeastern insurgent outfits and militant Islamist groups
regularly traverse India`s extremely porous border with Bangladesh. This is
an area where ideology, religion and ethnicity hold little or no regard, as
each militant group works with another to promote its cause," the report
said.

Meanwhile, defence sources claimed that a rift in the top ranks of the Ulfa
over the two crucial issues -- illegal migration from Bangladesh and a
political solution to the insurgency problem -- is growing, leading to
disintegration within its ranks.

The arrest of top Ulfa leader Prabal Neog is seen as a fallout of this rift.
Police claim Neog is a moderate who favoured a political solution to the
insurgency in Assam.

Neog, the commander of Ulfa`s main strike force, the 28th battalion, had
issued ultimatums to illegal migrants to leave Assam. He did this against
the wishes of senior Ulfa leaders living in Bangladesh, police said.

Neog and his comrades in the group believe Bangladeshis should be treated as
outsiders, just like the Hindi-speaking community targeted by the Ulfa,
sources said.

However, the Ulfa leadership is alleged to have a soft corner for
Bangladeshi migrants as the group`s top leaders have their bases and
businesses in the neighbouring country.

Bureau Report



Ho1 Ho! Ho! Strafor. What an insight!
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