Silchar, May 23: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the two frontline militant organisations of Manipur, have decided stop the two-year-long turf war in Jiribam subdivision of the state. Intelligence sources said this was a major development because both outfits have suffered heavy casualties over the past two years in Jiribam along Cachar district in south Assam.
The organisations have also decided to co-ordinate their operations in the district. However, there were no indications that the joint offensive will cover other parts of Manipur.
The sources today said the outfits would split the subdivision into operational spheres with the PLA controlling the north along National Highway 53 and the UNLF controlling the southern fringes bordering Cachar district.
That the two outfits have joined hands was evident during the Lok Sabha poll as the PLA and the UNLF jointly asked the people in Jiribam to boycott the elections.
The sources said the UNLF damaged a bridge near Latingkhal village on poll-eve to interrupt the movement of security forces to a cluster of villages inhabited mostly by Bengali-speaking people.
Repoll was ordered in eight polling centres in the subdivision, but the turnout was a dismal 10 per cent.
Authorities in the subdivision feared that extortion, abduction and other militancy-related activities might rise sharply following the decision by the two outfits to launch joint operations.
Fresh reinforcements of army and CRPF personnel were sent to Jiribam subdivision from Imphal and Cachar. Police in Cachar district’s Lakhipur subdivision have been put on high alert.
The south Assam districts are the stronghold of the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) which signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre recently.