January 22, 2007	Monday	Muharram 02, 1428

NEW DELHI, Jan 21: New Delhi has urged Myanmar to evict anti-India insurgent groups operating out of bases there, a foreign ministry statement said here on Sunday.

“While welcoming Myanmar's commitment not to allow its territory to be used for activities inimical to India, (India's foreign) minister sought their continued and sustained cooperation in this regard,” the statement said.

The issue was discussed at meetings between India's visiting foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and Myanmar leaders in Yangon, said the statement, issued at the end of Mukherjee's three-day visit.

Indian intelligence officials say at least half a dozen separatist rebel groups, including the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and a faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, operate out of bases in Myanmar's northern Sagaing division.

The ULFA, which is battling Indian troops in the northeastern state of Assam, has been blamed for the recent deaths of 61 Hindi-speaking migrant workers and a string of bombings in the province.

India and Myanmar share a 1,600-kilometre unfenced border that New Delhi says helps the rebels to make quick getaways after mounting attacks in India's tea, timber and oil-rich northeast.

Yangon has repeatedly assured New Delhi that it will not let Indian rebels operate from its soil.

Last month, Myanmar launched a military crackdown against the Naga rebels with heavy fighting reported between Myanmarese troops and the guerillas.

More than 50,000 people have been killed in violence in India's northeast since 1947.

During his visit that began on Friday, Mukherjee also sought to deepen economic links with what he called a “close and friendly neighbour.” The Indian minister sought the “early conclusion of a bilateral investment promotion treaty and an agreement on avoidance of double taxation,” besides ways to strengthen energy cooperation, the statement added.--AFP