GUWAHATI, March 29? The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) have procured a huge cache of arms and ammunition from an agency in Bangladesh during the last month, highly-placed official sources disclosed today. The sources further said that a 10-member group of the banned militant outfits purchased these arms from Chittagong in Bangladesh, which included AK series rifles, SLRs and grenades.
?According to reports, the agency in Bangladesh has been providing arms and ammunition to various underground organisations of the North East for the last several years,? the sources said, adding that the consignments of arms and ammunition had already been sent to the Bhutan camps. In this context, they revealed that Chittagong has become a hotbed of the militant groups of the region with the help of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. ?The NDFB of late has set up two base camps in the area (Chittagong) in a bid to procure arms and ammunition?, sources added.
Giving the rationale behind the shifting of bases of the militants towards the bordering areas of Bangladesh, they expressed the view that the militants used to procure arms and ammunitions from Myanmar, but due to stepped-up operations of the Junta there, the militants have started procuring these items from Bangladesh. The ISI agents are involved in supplying arms and ammunition to the militant groups of the region, the sources said. They, however, informed that the militants are still operating the Myanmar route defying hostile terrain.
On frequent movement of ULFA and NDFB along the Indo-Bangla border, the sources revealed that both the militant groups have consolidated their bases in the bordering areas of Bangladesh with active support of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT). ?ULFA, NDFB, NLFT and the Revolutionary Peoples? Front (RPF) have already constituted a platform to carry forward their armed struggle,? the sources added. They asserted that the security forces have intensified their vigilance along the border to contain the activities of the militants.