Manipur rebels 'check' soldiers

Separatist rebels in north-east India say they have stopped the Indian army from advancing into their key bases along the Burmese border.

A rebel leader in Manipur state told the BBC his group had successfully defended the bases and also inflicted casualties among the troops.

Last week the Indian army said it had captured three rebel bases and captured a large number of separatists.

There are reports that Burma has deployed troops to seal the border.

The Chairman of the outlawed United National Liberation Front, Rajkumar Meghen, told the BBC that his group successfully fought off Indian troops when they were trying to infiltrate the Kanan and Dingpi areas in Sajik Tampak in Manipur.

In a related development, police say the rebels have shot dead three non-Manipuri traders and attacked an Indian Border Security Force (BSF) outpost not far from the state capital Imphal.

The Indian army launched its offensive last month

In another incident in the same district, rebels lobbed grenades and fired at a BSF post injuring three border guards.

Security analyst Jaideep Saikia says the rebels are trying to attack targets outside the area where there bases are located in an attempt to divert the "focus of the military offensive".

Army offensive

An Indian army spokesman, Major Santanu Dev Goswami, told the BBC the military offensive in Manipur has led to the deaths of two Indian soldiers and 20 rebels. He said the army has also captured nearly 60 rebels.

The Indian army began a massive offensive against the Manipur rebel bases on the India-Burma border late last month.

Six thousand soldiers were deployed in the Churachandpur and Chandel districts to push the rebels out of their bases.

Indian military intelligence says two Burmese light infantry regiments have moved up to the border to stop rebels from fleeing into Burma.

Manipur is home to nearly 10 separatist rebel groups who have refused to open negotiations with the Indian government, unlike other such groups in the rest of India's northeast.