Hundreds of rebels fleeing to Assam amid crackdown: Bhutan

"The militants are no longer resisting and are fleeing towards Assam," a Royal Bhutan Army commander told AFP by telephone from the southern Samdrup Jhonkhar district. There was no immediate comment from rebel officials or Indian authorities.

"Our troops are clearing the dense jungles inch by inch to eject the rebels," the commander, who asked to remain unnamed, said.

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The ancient Himalayan kingdom shares a 262-km (162 miles) unfenced border with the revolt-torn northeastern Indian state of Assam.

Bhutan says it has destroyed about 30 camps belonging to three Indian separatist groups since the launch of the military offensive, the kingdom's first since it fought the British in 1865.

The crackdown followed repeated Indian calls for Bhutan to expel the estimated 3,000 rebels who have been staging hit-and-run attacks on Indian government targets for a dozen years from the camps located in dense jungle in the nation's south.

Bhutan has released no casualty figures, but the Indian army, which helps train the Bhutanese army, says more than 140 rebels have died along with eight Bhutanese troops and support personnel since the offensive started on December 15. The rebels deny any major losses.

India says it has sealed the border with Bhutan to cut off the rebels' escape routes. It has offered them an amnesty and financial aid to start new lives if they surrender by the end of January.

"We would take care of the militants if they surrender," said Mohinder Singh, an army corps general commanding officer in Assam.