Assam Rifles DG briefs Army chief on Indo-Myanmar border situation

New Delhi, October 24 (IANS): Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan has met Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane to apprise him about prevailing threats and the security situation along the India-Myanmar border, sources said.

In their meeting in Delhi on Friday, Lt Gen Sangwan gave a detailed briefing about the prevailing threats on the India-Myanmar border and the contribution of the Assam Rifles in maintaining peace and security in the northeast region.

On Thursday, he interacted with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and had appraised him on operational and administrative issues of the Assam Rifles.

Sources said that during interaction with the Army chief, Lt Gen Sangwan apprised him about how northeast's insurgent groups are recruiting locals and consolidating their positions in Myanmar.

He also told him about how the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), led by Yung Aung, is strengthening its position inside Myanmar, as well as how other NSCN groups are planning to attack security forces at vulnerable points in the the region.

Myanmar shares a 1,640 km border with a number of northeastern states, including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

Assam Rifles conducts counter-insurgency operations in the northeast and other areas where deemed necessary, under control of the Army. During peace and 'proxy war', it ensures security of the Indo-China and Indo-Myanmar borders in the region.

Earlier this month, Gen Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had travelled to Myanmar on a two-day visit during which they meet top military and political brass of the country, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and talked about joint action against insurgent groups operating in the northeast region and in Myanmar.

The visit by General Naravane and Shringla assumes significance as it comes in the amid India and China's six-month-long standoff at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.