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Naga insurgents claim Indian Army conducted surgical strikes against them

Representational image | PTI

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) (NSCN-K), a Naga militant outfit, on Thursday claimed that the Indian Army attempted to carry out a surgical strike on their camp on Nagaland-Myanmar border, but failed.

Isak Sumi, deputy minister of NSCN-K, said a huge number of Army personnel arrived at the Nagaland-Myanmar border and opened fire on Naga camps."But we had already detected the Indian Army's presence and resorted to firing randomly for several minutes. Naga army (NSCN-K) responded and prevented any further advance (of Indian Army). The casualty could not be ascertained," said Sumi in a statement.

The Army marched through the Nagaland-Myanmar border at around Wednesday noon and tried to blow off the camps of NSCN-K, according to the insurgent group's statement. The exchange of firing lasted for around half-an-hour, it said.

The Army neither accepted nor refuted the charges. The Eastern Command maintained a studied silence. The Third Corps or Spear Corps of Indian Army, stationed in Dimapur and looks after the area, refused to comment.

Defence ministry spokesperson S.S. Birdi said, "I have not received any information regarding this."

However, a senior official of the Indian Army official, posted in Nagaland, said the incident occurred, but the Army did not violate the international border. "It was not a violation of international border or any kind of surgical strikes," said the officer.

The Army is on high alert in Nagaland and Manipur following the Naga insurgents' threat over the deadlock of Naga peace talks between NSCN (IM) and the Union government. Recently, the NSCN-K told THE WEEK that they have considered their ongoing action against Indian Army as a war against India.