IMPHAL, July 14: The NSCN (K) faction led by Yung Aung and the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) have strongly condemned what they claim were targeted drone strikes carried out by Indian security forces in eastern Nagaland, resulting in multiple casualties, including the death of senior United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) leader Lt. Gen. Nayan Asom.
According to a press release issued on Monday, the NSCN (K-YA) alleged that Indian forces conducted drone attacks between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on July 13 at Hoyat and Pangsau areas, targeting ULFA-I and NSCN camps. The group described Lt. Gen. Nayan Asom as a “committed revolutionary figure” and mourned his death as a significant loss for “all oppressed WESEA nations.”
The group condemned the alleged airstrikes, calling them an “atrocity,” and paid tribute to the fallen leaders and injured cadres. “We extend our deepest condolences and solidarity to the ULFA-I and join them in their grief and loss on this tragic day,” the statement read.
The outfit further alleged that the Government of India (GOI) had escalated military actions against NSCN/GPRN cadres in recent months, with killings and assaults continuing unabated. It warned that the use of advanced weaponry and technology by Indian forces would not ensure control over the region. “If India thinks she can wage an unjust war through the power of her sophisticated weapons and technological advantage and maintain her hegemony over the WESEA region, she is greatly mistaken,” it asserted.
Similarly, the RPF also denounced the drone strikes, claiming Indian Special Forces used high-end drones to drop over 150 bombs on four ULFA-I camps and a joint ULFA-I–PLA camp near the Nagaland–Myanmar border on the midnight of July 12. While the PLA reportedly suffered no casualties, ULFA-I confirmed the death of Lt. Gen. Nayan Asom and injuries to several of its cadres.
The RPF expressed its deepest condolences to ULFA-I and called the fallen leader a hero who “gave his life for his country.” It accused the Indian Army of engaging in proxy wars against revolutionary groups and attempting to suppress legitimate resistance in the region.
“Historically we were not India and we were independent kingdoms. India knows the history and is convinced that Assam and Manipur cannot be occupied easily,” read the RPF statement. “Whatever India says and prides about Assam and Manipur being Indian are lies. ‘Archenemy of India cannot be Indian.’”
Calling for mass resistance, the RPF urged the people of Assam and Manipur to reject “deceptions and temptations” from the Indian government and to resist what it described as the ongoing occupation of their land.
