Two of three armed units of ULFA on Tuesday announced a unilateral cease-fire, marking a major revolt in the group. The two units comprising the dreaded 28th Battalion are the most potent military unit of ULFA. The cease-fire announcement by Alpha and Charlie companies of the most active rebel group came soon after 25 members of the 28th Battalion laid down arms before the army in Assam's Jorhat district.

In another significant development, 26 ULFA members, mainly from the 709th and 27th Battalions, surrendered at Tamulpur in Baksa district. The insurgent group, which has killed several hundred people and security personnel since it was founded in 1979, has three battalions, namely the 28th, 27th and 109th.

The government of Assam state said it has been making efforts to bring over ground the armed guerrillas of the 28th Battalion, which is accused of most of the deadly strikes in Assam in recent times, including attacks on Hindi-speaking people. According to a senior federal Interior Ministry official, the state government and the security forces had on Saturday received feelers from the rebels hinting that two of its dreaded military units are willing to surrender.

The breakthrough could be achieved only after the release of the battalion's former commander, Mrinal Hazarika, from prison after he secured bail for the last of the 15 cases filed against him. Hazarika, once a self-styled commander, was arrested in the city of Siliguri in West Bengal state in May 2006.

"Today, the two companies' 15 leaders, including Hazarika, announce cease-fire," said a signed statement released by the rebels of ULFA's two powerful military units.

In anticipation of such a cease-fire announcement, the state government, at the behest of the federal Interior Ministry and the army, issued a confidential message to all superintendents of police, asking them to restrict action of their forces against the guerrillas. In fact, this instruction paved the way for a peace dialogue with the insurgents' 28th Battalion. A senior state police official, who declined to be named, said the government and the security forces are making efforts to bring the third armed unit of the group named Bravo also over ground. Two top commanders, Sujit Mohan and Bijoy Das, alias Bijoy Chinese, of the 28th Battalion could also join the group that issued the cease-fire statement, the official said.

"In response to the people's desire for peace, we call upon our respected central executive as well as the central and state governments, to show their respect to the people's wishes," the cease-fire statement pointed out.

The cease-fire announcement came after the government and the security forces initiated a peace negotiation with Hazarika following a letter from him to the government from jail a few months ago, offering to broker peace. The Indian army and paramilitary forces have launched major offensives against the ULFA guerrillas in the recent past, wiping out almost the entire front line leadership of the group. The success of these offensives caused panic among the insurgents, as many of them were worried about their future. Meanwhile, efforts of the ULFA chief Paresh Barua to keep his flock together failed to yield any result as a large number of his followers offered to surrender before the army.

India's northeastern region is encircled by neighbors like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China. The rebels find shelter in most of these countries and, after carrying out killing in the Indian territory sneak into the neighboring countries. India has been accusing Bangladesh and Myanmar of allowing Indian insurgent groups to freely operate from their soil.

"The porous Indo-Bangladesh border in the northeast has for long been a corridor for various activities of armed militants in the region. Hence, the apprehensions are that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and militant outfit like Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami-Bangladesh may create trouble for the northeastern states in the coming future," said Kalyan Barooah, a senior journalist at the Assam Tribune.

These parties are presumed to be hand in glove with the militant outfits and the Pakistani spy agency Inter Service Intelligence. India fears Bangladesh may provide more support to ISI training camps for Indian militant groups along the border. The ULFA also has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States 26 years after the formation of the rebel outfit that has been battling against the Indian rule demanding independence.

"ULFA procures and trades in arms with other northeast Indian groups and receives aid from unknown external sources. It also noted the ULFA's use of extortion to finance military training, weapons purchase and trade in arms with other ethnic insurgent groups active in the area," said a report on terrorism.

Two top ULFA leaders, Commander-in-Chief Paresh Barua and the group's chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, have Interpol Red Corner Notices up against them for a long time now. Yet, the security forces have failed to track them down. The Indian government has failed on various occasions to prevail upon Bangladesh and Myanmar to stop these rebels from carrying out their anti-Indian activities.

"The reported nexus between ULFA-ISI and ULFA-Bangladesh has crucial implications for the security and integrity of the region, as the state government has accused the ISI as being the invisible hand behind the brutal massacre of Hindi-speaking people in the state by ULFA," said Upasana Mahanta, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, a non-government think tank.

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