KNF thriving on unrest in region
Armed group Kuki-Chin Liberation Front (KNF) has spread to some areas of Bangladesh, Chin and Rakhine states of Myanmar and India's Mizoram and Manipur states, said Security analyst Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain.
"Kuki-Chin has a strong influence in these areas. In Chin state, the National Defence Force [NDF] is fighting against the Myanmar government. Most of the NDF members are Kuki-Chin. Many Kukis have also gone to Mizoram from here. Unrest has been created there over this issue also," he told The Daily Star.
The former army official, who once served in the Chattogram Hill Tracts area, said, "In Manipur, we see serious clashes between the Meitei and the Kuki. The movement and activities of the Kuki-Chin on the other side of the border led to the creation and activation of KNF here."
He said the Chattogram Hill Tracts region is almost becoming a major drug route.
Drugs emerge at the scene of any armed unrest, he said, adding that narcotics trade is basically a means to earn money to procure arms.
He said KNF gets arms and support from the entire region. "They [Kuki-Chin] are now demanding autonomy for a large area in Bandarban. However, they are yet to mention the Kuki-Chin controlled areas on the other side of the border in this connection."
The distance between Ruma, Thanchi and Alikadam is not insignificant. The recent attacks in these three upazilas within a short span of time indicates that KNF members divided themselves into several groups and carried out the attacks in a well-planned manner. Their show of strength indicates that they want to "turn the area into a battlefield", he observed.
He said KNF are reportedly trained by Kachin Independent Army. He suggested tasking Bangladesh Army with countering insurgency as police and Rab are not trained enough on this.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab's legal and media wing, said they were yet to have any confirmed information about attacking banks and snatching of firearms by KNF on April 2-3 as they were yet to arrest any member of the armed group.
He, however, observed that there might be two motives behind KNF's criminal activities -- firstly, to collect funds and arms and ammo and secondly, to show its supporters and rival groups in the hill tracts that it is a strong armed group in the hills.
Meanwhile, KNF's media and intelligence wing chief, named Colonel Solomon, on the group's verified Facebook page on Friday said they launched the recent attacks as the peace committee violated the terms of the agreement signed between KNF and the committee.
WHO ARE KNF?
In early 2022, the name of the new armed group KNF came to light. It was learnt that some people from Bawm ethnic community in Bandarban formed the group.
The group came to the fore after it opened a Facebook page and demanded a separate state comprising nine upazilas of Bandarban and Rangamati.
The upazilas are Baghaichhari, Barkal, Jurachhari and Bilaichhari of Rangamati and Rowangchhari, Ruma, Thanchi, Lama and Alikadam of Bandarban.
They claim that they represent six ethnic communities -- Bawm, Pankhowa, Lusai, Khyang, Mro and Khumi.
The KNF in several statements circulated on social media at that time said that they have formed an armed group called Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA).
They also claimed that more than 100 members of their military wing migrated to Myanmar's Kachin province for guerrilla training three years ago.
A trained group returned to Bangladesh in 2021 and its members went into hiding in 2022.
Nathan Bawm of Aden Para of Bandarban's Ruma upazila is the head of this organisation.
A graduate from the Department of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, Nathan Bawm founded a non-governmental organisation called Kuki-Chin National Development Organisation (KNDO) in his area in 2008. In 2019, the name was changed to KNF, sources in the Bawm community said.
In October 2022, KNF grabbed media attention after law enforcers came up with mindboggling information that the group was providing combat training and operational tactics to the members of newly emerged militant group Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya at KNF training camps in CHT.
The militant group's plan was to establish a caliphate in Bangladesh through armed struggle and, if necessary, carry out attacks on key installations and important personalities, said officials of Rab which successfully launched crackdowns on the militant group and KNF.
To reach their goals, the group recruited young men from at least 19 districts, took them to the hills, and made them go through rigorous combat training provided by the KNF. Jama'atul Ansar has 55 members trained in the use of firearms that include assault rifles, officials said.
In the wake of such information, law enforcement agencies launched a series of operations in which dozens of militants and around 20 KNF members were arrested with firearms. Many of those KNF members are still behind bars.
According to media reports, five members of joint forces, including a DGFI official, were killed during the operations last year. Several KNF members were also killed.
A peace establishment committee was formed on May 29 last year, with Bandarban Hill District Council Chairman Kyaw Swe Hla as its convenor, to bring the KNF members back to normal life.
KNF held several meetings, online and in-person, with the committee. Two memorandum of understandings were also signed in the two rounds of meetings held on November 5 and March 5 last year. The KNF had promised to stop all kinds of criminal activities, including extortion, kidnapping, and looting.
But breaking the promise, armed members of KNF attacked Sonali and Krishi banks in Ruma and Thanchi last week, and kidnapped banker Nezam Uddin. The armed group looted 14 weapons from the police and Ansar personnel.
KNF also launched a gun attack on a police outpost in Thanchi on Thursday night. Police and KNF members traded around 700 bullets during the hour-long fight from 8:30pm.
Besides, they created terror in the area by extorting, looting and torturing innocent people at different times.
M Sakhawat Hossain said, "Peace talks with armed groups only serve to strengthen those organisations.
"Peace talks with such groups means you are giving them recognition. This gives them the opportunity to recruit more members. It also gives the hint that the government is giving importance to them. KNF has bolstered its strength like the other armed groups do," he told The Daily Star.
Last year, KNF attacked ordinary people, construction workers, and a Buddhist temple during a Prabarana programme. It also clashed with another armed group in the hills, UPDF-Ganotantrik, and even tried to blow up a bridge. At least 12 people were killed and five wounded in the attacks and clashes.
According to leaders of Bawm community, KNF initially had 300 armed members. During a joint operation by security forces last year, many village youths fled to the forest. Many of them later joined the KNF, willingly or unwillingly. Now the group may have about 700 members.
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