Guwahati: At least 3 personnel from 4 Assam Rifles unit lost their lives and four were injured in an ambush by insurgents of the proscribed People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Chandel district, Manipur near the border with Myanmar, on Thursday, July 30.
According to reports, the insurgents carried out an improvised explosive device (IED) and then fired at the troops. As many as 3 Assam Rifles jawans were martyred in the firing, while 4 were grievously injured. The Army has rushed reinforcements to the area which is 100 km from the state capital Imphal.
According to official records, ther People's Liberation Army of Manipur, often shortened to just People's Liberation Army., was founded by the separatist N. Bisheshwar Singh on 25 September 1978. The PLA is a separatist armed revolutionary group fighting for a separate independent socialist state of Manipur.
PLA is also a member of the Manipur Peoples Liberation Front, an umbrella organization of three separatist organizations of Manipur, namely UNLF and PREPAK. The PLA organization has an estimated strength of some 3,800 as of 2008.
This is a developing story. More details awaited.