NEW DELHI, July 24: Formal contact has been established between the top ULFA leadership and the Union government. Highly-placed sources in the ministry of home affairs have confirmed that a series of preliminary rounds of talks have been held during the recent past with the ULFA leadership. The last round of talks was held in London last month, where intermediaries of the Union government met the chairman of the banned outfit, Arabinda Rajkhowa. However, contrary to reports, the commander-in-chief of the outfit, Paresh Baruah, considered a hardliner, had neither established contacts with the home ministry, nor did he turn up at the London meeting. The Union Government's representatives were given to understand that the move had his sanction. The Centre seems to have taken Assam government's advice to hold talks with the outfit that should involve the top leadership of the ULFA only. However, it is not yet clear whether the state government has been involved with the talks process though the it is believed to have been kept informed. Involvement of the state government looks doubtful as the outfit has shown interest in only talking to the Centre. Besides, Assam Government also had to face disappointment when some six months back an arranged meeting between two State Government representatives and the ULFA leadership in London failed to materialise, as the news was prematurely leaked to the Press. Sources here declining to go into details as to how contacts were established, said that initially some intermediaries had been involved but now the two sides were in direct touch. The feeling at the Centre is that if the current trend of preliminary rounds of talks are any indication, then the first round of formal negotiations between the two sides should take place in about six months' time. As for the reason for the outfit's turnaround in posture, the ministry thinks that growing isolation of the outfit from the mainstream and pressure from neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Bangladesh could be the immediate factor. Besides, Army operations have also taken a heavy toll on the ULFA cadres in the state, sources added. Significantly, it is the stand of the ULFA commander-in-chief that is puzzling the Centre. Baruah is believed to be in the clutches of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. The c-in-c spends much of his time in Karachi, according to communications between him and his cadres intercepted by the intelligence agencies. Sources said that he was last seen in Bangladesh where agencies managed to photograph him along with few cadres at Dhaka. Meanwhile, the sources said ULFA has currently about 80 to 100 cadres undergoing training at Afghanistan, though it is not yet clear whether they participated in the Kargil conflict. The Centre got a firm idea about the ULFA's goings-on in Afghanistan when agencies managed to nab a cadre from a batch that had recently returned from training in the country. Cadres are brought to Dhaka in batches where, before boarding a flight to Kabul, they are issued with a Pakistani passport. In Afghanistan, they are blindfolded and taken in trucks to a remote mountain area where Taliban training camps are located. The militants, therefore, have no idea where they are taken for training. During the return journey, Pakistan collects back all the passports and cadres are then armed to the teeth before being pushed into Assam. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 25, 1999)

IMPHAL, July 26 - At least one CRPF personnel was killed and others were seriously injured on Sunday when suspected militants ambushed a convoy of 45 Bn CRPF at Moirang Hanuba Leirak, about 1.5 km from Tera police outpost in Imphal. Sources said a combing operation was conducted in and around the spot with the help of additional forces, including Manipur Police and Manipur Rifles to nab the culprits, police sources said. Insurgent activities in the state have been on the rise in recent times following the redeployment of Army personnel for the Kargil operations in Jammu and Kashmir. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 27, 1999)

GUWAHATI, July 27: At least six persons, including five policemen, were killed and five others received bullet injuries when a group of unidentified extremists ambushed a police party at Lalongdisha near Diphu in Karbi Anglong District early Tuesday morning. Though the identity of the extremists involved in the incident is yet to be ascertained, police suspect that it was a joint operation of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) and the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD). Police sources here said a police team headed by the additional superintendent of police of Karbi Anglong and deputy superintendent of police ( headquarter) had gone to conduct a raid in the Baralangphar area, about 20 km from Diphu town. After travelling about 12 km, the officers sent a team of policemen to Baralangphar police outpost asking for reinforcements. The team, which picked up one assistant sub-inspector of police and two constables from the outpost, were returning to join the original spot in a truck when they came under attack from the extremists at Lalongdisha. The sources said five policemen and the civilian driver were killed on the spot. The extremists used AK-series rifles in the attack. They also took away some arms and ammunition including three self-loading rifles (SLRs), two .303 rifles, one revolver, 150 rounds of SLR ammunition, 60 rounds of .303 ammunition and six rounds of revolver bullets from the police personnel. The police in Karbi Anglong has been hot on the heels of a roving group of NSCN militants. On July 24, the police and the militants were engaged in an encounter at Terongaon. No one was injured in the incident and the militants escaped. After Tuesday's incident, a full-scale operation has been launched to nab the ultras. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 28, 1999)

NALBARI, July 28: Disgusted with the activities of the different militant outfits, which had vitiated the atmosphere of the district with rampant killings, extortion, abductions, the people of Nalbari have come out to the street to put an end to it. Four militant outfits - United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF) and Bengali Tiger Force (BTF) are active in the area. A new outfit Adivasi Cobra militants has also emerged. The people of Nalbari held a series of public meetings at several places to protest the growing militant activities and resolved not to provide money and shelter to the militants. (Romen Kalita; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 29, 1999)

GUWAHATI, July 28 - The banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has shifted three of its big camps further deep inside Bhutanese territory to avoid conflicts with the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), according to the deputy inspector-general of the Border Security Force (BSF), Ashok Kumar. He said the outfit had shifted the camps last week in view of the Bhutan government's fresh move to evict them from its soil. The Bhutan government had held two rounds of talks with the leadership of the ULFA and during the discussions the latter had agreed to reduce the number of men instead of leaving the area. The outfit had shifted the camps by about 100 km away from Daifam and Kalikhota, so that RBA could not launch operations against them. The DIG also said that the BSF had stepped up vigilance along the Indo-Bhutan border to prevent entry of the militants. According to intelligence reports, the three outfits - ULFA, National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) and Bodoland Liberation Tiger Force (BLTF) which are taking shelter in Bhutan are facing problems in running their camps due to intense pressure from the Bhutan government, the DIG said. He, however, said the militants are crossing over the border from western side of Sonkosh river only and this route has been identified as most sensitive for the river. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 29, 1999)

DIMAPUR, July 29: In a move that may have far-reaching consequences in combating militancy, policymakers in North Block are evolving a new policy of streamlining state police forces to tackle insurgency in the Northeast while diminishing the overwhelming presence of the Army. This is in line with the defence ministry's initiative to relieve the Army of the job of maintaining internal security in the insurgency-prone region and hand over the task to paramilitary forces, particularly Assam Rifles. The hierarchy in the defence ministry are of the view that excess employment of Army for militancy operations has enervated it and diverted its focus from the real task of ensuring security from external threats. However, the move was not initiated because of the recent conflict in Kargil. "The militancy problem in the Northeast is of a political nature unlike Kashmir and the Army is not a remedy to the problem," highly-placed sources said, adding that the process of demilitarisation of the Northeast had been initiated long before the Kargil conflict started. As part of the demilitarisation policy, the defence ministry is seriously contemplating to shift the 3 Corps headquarters based at Rangapahar near Dimapur in Nagaland to Pattan in Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir. 3 Crops is actively involved in counter-insurgency operations in Manipur, Tripura and North Cachar Hills district of Assam. Besides, 3 Corps is also aiding the civil administration and paramilitary forces in maintaining peace in Nagaland and Mizoram. "You can say the chance of shifting the corps headquarters from Rangapahar is 80 per cent," a senior official in the ministry said. 3 Corps is likely to be replaced by the directorate-general of Assam Rifles based in Shillong. The 57 Mountain Division based at Leimakhong in Manipur has already been shifted to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, in 1991, 8th Mountain Brigade headquarters at Zakhama near Kohima had been moved to Sharifabad in Jammu and Kashmir. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; July 30, 1999)

AGARTALA, July 29: Six paramilitary personnel were killed and an equal number of securitymen were wounded in landmine explosions in two different incidents in Tripura this months. Explosives are a new element in the operations and this change has caused serious concern to authorities. Sources claim that two outlawed organisations -National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) and All-Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have acquired an alarming stock of explosives from foreign soil. It was not immediately known whether the explosives included the dreaded RDX. Indian intelligence agencies have definite information that a shipment of advanced arms arrived through arms dealers operating in Thailand and Myanmar. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan played an important role in making these arms available to the insurgents, the agencies confirmed. (HT Correspondent; the Hindustan Times; New Delhi; July 30, 1999)

KARGIL, July 29: Lieutenant Tarun Saikia's parents and friends in Assam think he is a trainee bank manager in State Bank of India in Jammu. And comrades-in-arms of Captain Jintu Gogoi say his neighbours were surprised back home in Assam when news came that he had died fighting in Kargil. They did now know he was in the Army. The brave Assamese soldiers fighting fearlessly in the icy wastelands north of Zoji La are haunted by fear of a different kind. They have to worry about the safety of their families back in Assam. The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has threatened all Assamese soldiers fighting in Kargil to return home and not fight for India. Or else, they would have to face the consequences. (Gaurav Sawant; The Indian Express; New Delhi; July 30, 1999)