Imphal, November 13 2008: LAST NIGHT'S attack on the Assam Rifles post attached to the Lilong Police Station was carried out by a special fighting team of Manipur People's Army (MPA) of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), claimed the banned underground organisation.

Ksh Yoiheiba, Senior Publicity Officer of the Department of Publicity, UNLF today stated in a press release that in yesterday's attack, the special fighting team fired a number of rockets and grenades from M79 grenade launcher.

In the sudden attack, the personnel of the Assam Rifles, who suffered heavy casualties in the series of bomb explosions, were completely taken by surprise and perplexed for a while and didn't know where to run.

Having carried out the attack carefully without causing any harm to the adjoining Police Station, the MPA team made a swift retreat from there, Ksh Yoiheiba stated.

He further stated that prior to yesterday's attack, the MPA had launched offensive, using rocket launchers and grenade launchers, against the AR post of Longa-Koireng and Ithai Barrage within the last ten days.

Stating that among the IOFs who are keeping the people of Manipur under their boots as colonised people, the Assam Rifles were the only force which had the lowliest mentality, Yoiheiba charged that the Assam Rifles indulged in wanton torturing and killing of the innocent people, then put camouflage on the dead bodies, place some old weapons near them and branding them as insurgents�all in the name of counter insurgency operations.

Besides, calling themselves as "friends of the hills people," the AR were wheedling the people of the hills in order to use them as tools against the people of the plains, pouring poison to create communal hatred, etc and indulging in all such dastardly activities, which are openly known to the public of Manipur, the press release of the UNLF stated.

The UNLF also accused the AR of supporting some people whom the rebel group called betrayers and enemies of the society by arming them, to use them as their henchmen.

The AR were using these henchmen to carry out anti-people activities and making them wage a proxy propaganda war against the revolutionary organisations.

Thus these henchmen of the AR were planting bombs amidst civilians and opening fire with a view to making the revolutionary organisations be seen as mafia gangs the press release stated.

Meanwhile a news report published in today's newspapers quoting a press release issued by PRO of IGAR (South) that "20 AR have arrested one UNLF cadre identified as Thoibi (28), a resident of Moreh Ward No.7 from Bongyang check-post along with a Maruti car (MN-01-W-0691) on November 11" is baseless.

The UNLF has no truck whatsoever with this man, the press release asserted.

The AR kept on arresting the same man again and again charging him with being member of different parties.

On the 4th of this month, another press note from the IGAR (South) had stated that troops of 31 AR apprehended a PLA cadre called Thoibi (30), residing at Moreh Ward No.7 during a search operation conducted at Moreh Ward No.7 .

And today the AR were tagging the name of UNLF on the same man.

These show that the AR were indulging in the lowliest kind of activities, Yoiheiba stated.