Assam massacre: Bhutan assures Sushma Swaraj of action against NDFB (S)

 In the wake of massacre of tribals in Assam by NDFB(S), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to Bhutan government which assured her of action against terror outfits.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the media on Thursday that "External Affairs Minister Smt Sushma Swaraj spoke to Bhutan government and Bhutan also assured action against terror outfits," according to a Home Ministry statement.

Singh had spoken to Swaraj last night and requested her for immediate consultation with the authorities in the Himalayan nation, a Home Ministry official said. NDFB is believed to have set up a few bases in the dense forest along the Indo-Bhutan border. Officials said that whenever security forces carry out offensives against NDFB, the cadres of the group often sneak into the Bhutanese territory making it difficult to track them down.

In 2003-04, Bhutan had carried out a massive operation against ULFA militants and wiped out their bases from that country. The ULFA leadership had to leave Bhutan after a large number of the cadres were killed by the Bhutanese Army.

On Tuesday, heavily armed militants belonging to NDFB(S) swooped down on remote Adivasi villages of three Assam districts killing 65 people including 21 women and 18 children, sparking a retaliation in which Bodo homes were torched and a police station attacked leaving three more tribals dead allegedly in police firing.