Five ULFA cadres had also surrendered in August, while security forces eliminated as many as 27 militants in the Lower Assam region alone during the current year, while over 200 have been apprehended and handed over to the police.

The six ULFA cadres who surrendered on Saturday included a woman cadre named Jainali Das, who was trained in Bhutan in 1999 and had since been operating with Hira Sarania in Barpeta, Nalbari, Golpara and Guwahati.

The Army on Saturday claimed that intensive operations had caused demotivation among the ULFA cadres, prompting them to give up.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of malaria in an ULFA hideout inside the Manabhum reserved forest in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh also claimed two senior militants. A press note issued by the Army said two senior ULFA cadres, self-styled ‘Sergeant Major’ Bhawani Hazarika and ‘Sergeant Major’ Ghanakanta Gogoi died of malaria, following which their bodies were dumped on a roadside by their colleagues.

“Intelligence inputs indicate that many more ULFA cadres staying in various camps are sick and are in urgent need of medical attention,” a press note issued by the Army’s Four Corps headquarters said.