KNF gets arms, support from other side of border
Says security analyst M Sakhawat Hossain
The strong influence of armed group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) in Chin and Rakhine states of Myanmar and Mizoram and Manipur states of India has led to its creation in Bangladesh, 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," theformer army official, who once served in the Chattogram Hill Tracts area, told The Daily Star.
"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."
KNF gets arms and support from there, he said.
He said the CHT region is almost close to becoming a major drug route.
Drugs emerge at the scene of any armed unrest, he said, adding that the narcotics trade is basically a means to earn money to procure arms.
"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 indicate 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 is reportedly trained by the Kachin Independent Army. He suggested tasking the 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 bank robberies 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, 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 learned that some people from the 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 the time, said that they had formed an armed group called the 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 of 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 the 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 including 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, both 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 stormed Sonali and Krishi banks in Ruma and Thanchi last week and kidnapped banker Nezam Uddin. The armed group looted 14 firearms 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 starting at 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 mean 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," 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 the 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.
Bangladesh Defense
