The anti-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam led by its self-styled army chief Paresh Barua on Thursday issued a statement threatening to train its gun on 'Indians living in Assam' in retaliation to the 'atrocities perpetrated on innocent Assamese people by the COBRA Force of colonial India' in Tinsukia district of eastern Assam in the name of operation against the ULFA militants.
Combat Battalion for Resolute Action personnel have been deployed in eastern Assam to tackle the renewed threat from the anti-talks faction of the ULFA that is trying hard to regroup in the state.
The ULFA statement signed by its publicity secretary Arunodoy Dahotia and e-mailed to the media in Guwahati on Thursday afternoon said the latest actions of the COBRA force indicated that the force is taking advantage of Armed Forces (Special Power) Acts and was bent upon let loose a reign of terror among the people of Assam.
The ULFA stated that it would not tolerate harassment of innocent local people by the COBRA force and would retaliate by targeting 'Indians living in Assam'.
It also called upon the people of Assam to rise against the 'state terror' that was being let loose on the state.
The ULFA has the history of killing Hindi-speaking people from outside the state and residing in Assam especially in eastern Assam districts. With today's statement the outfit has threatened to resort to the same terror tactics to make its presence felt.
A security source informed that the Army, Assam Police and paramilitary forces operating the under the Unified command have intensified operation against ULFA insurgents in eastern Assam districts on the basis of information that some groups of fresh recruits of the ULFA had sneaked into the state from Myanmar through Arunachal Pradesh to strike terror in the state.
