Naga insurgent group may be behind attacks on Assam Rifle personnel

ABreaking away NSCN(IM)  sect which operates from union of burma’s Sagaing neighborhood is suspected to feature carried out the attacks in which three Assam Rifles personnel were killed over the last one week, people aware of the matter said even as security forces on Tuesday detained three people who may be connected with the July 6 ambush.The people said that the unprovoked attacks on security forces could be related from the ongoing Naga-Kuki clashes in Manipur and the rivalry between the leaders of the faction, Eastern Flank, and NSCN(IM) over dominance in Manipur’s Naga areas.“An intelligence-based operation has been launched by security forces in the areas of TM Kasom, Litan and Sikibung to arrest the perpetrators of the ambush on security forces in Ukhrul district on July 6. Three persons have been detained,” Manipur Police said in a statement.The Eastern Flank is a breakaway faction of the NSCN(IM) that operates across the border and is not engaged in a framework agreement with the Centre, unlike the NSCN(IM). The group is commanded by self-styled Lieutenant General (retired) HS Ramsan and self-styled Lieutenant General (retired) A Raman, who were expelled from the NSCN(IM), ten days before the attack.HT has a copy of the expulsion letters for the two leaders. Their titles were stripped and the cadres under the two SS leaders(who form the Eastern Flank) were told to report back to the Camp Hebron headquarters in Nagaland.“The modus operandi in both cases is similar. The militants used low-to medium-intensity explosive devices. Both attacks took place during the day around the same time -- between 1:30 and 2 pm. Though police are yet to identify or deny involvement of any group, this definitely does not appear to be the modus operandi of the NSCN(IM),” an officer who asked not to be named said.An officer aware of the matter said that planting IEDs is usually the modus operandi of ULFA, the Naxals and some Meitei insurgent groups. “Before these incidents, the Assam Rifles personnel were last ambushed on September 19, 2025 in which two AR jawans died,” he said.A second officer pointed out that the ongoing Naga clashes have led to the deaths of over two dozen people from both communities. “The ongoing Kuki-Naga clashes are centered around Ukhrul, Senapati,and a few other Naga districts of Manipur where NSCN(IM) and the breakaway group Eastern Flank are already at war. Simultaneously, the Naga, Kuki clashes have erupted in Ukhrul. This has emerged as an opportunity for the Eastern Flank to demonstrate its so-called dominance by attacking the force,” the official explained.A third officer said that while NSCN(IM) has accused Eastern Flank of being involved in the July 6 attack in which 2 AR jawans were killed, it is also likely that the July 13 ambush in Nagaland—an NSCN(IM) stronghold—may be the breakaway faction’s strategy to direct action by security forces toward the NSCN(IM).