The Bodo & Ulfa Problem

Bhutan Bodo & Ulfa Conflict Nepali Maoists providing military training to Bhutanese refugees (Sept 2004)

Maoist rebels are providing training to a section of Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal, a newspaper report said quoting a report by an Indian security agency. The Telegraph, a leading Indian daily, quoted a report of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India as saying that Nepali rebels were providing militancy training to a group of Bhutanese refugees and a batch of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) rebels in eastern district of Jhapa. ULFA is an Indian militant group operating in Assam state of India.

A BSF deputy inspector-general said that Indian police has conclusive proof that the Nepal Maoists are hand-in-glove with ULFA, KLO and NDFB militants, who use the Bangladesh border in north Bengal to shuttle between areas located on the Assam-Bengal-Bhutan tri-junction. Since the Nepal Maoists are trying to spread base outside the Himalayan kingdom, training Nepali refugees of Bhutan could help them curry favour from the Ulfa-KLO-NDFB combine, which has multiple training camps in Bangladesh, he added. The ULFA-KLO-NDFB militants are scouting for an opportunity to re-enter Bhutan after being flushed out of their strongholds by the Bhutanese Army with support from the Indian army in December last year. The BSF feel trained Nepali refugees could also help the rebels re-establish their camps in "non-traditional" parts of Bhutan.

Bhutan Maps