Protests against attacks on villagers by Bodo rebels in Sonitpur district of northeastern Assam (Agence France-Presse photo)
In northern Assam, militants demanding a separate homeland for indigenous Bodo tribesmen went on a killing spree last night. Protesters demonstrating against the killing were fired upon by the police this morning. 70 people have been killed since Tuesday evening. Here are the 10 latest developments:
Here are the 10 latest developments:
Militants last evening killed 62 people in an hour in a series of coordinated attacks in four places. The militants are a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
They targeted Adivasis or tribal settlers who work largely on tea plantations. In retaliation, they attacked a Bodo village this morning with spears and rods, killing three people.
The police fired on Wednesday on demonstrators, killing five people. The police claim hundreds of plantation workers armed with bows and arrows defied a curfew to surround police stations in Sonitpur district, the area worst hit by the militant violence.
Some protesters set fire to shops and others blocked a railway line and roads. Police said they had to disperse the crowds.
Parts of northern Assam are under curfew. The army is on stand-by.
18 children and 21 women were among those killed on Tuesday evening. "This is one of the most barbaric attacks in recent times with the militants not even sparing infants," said state Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
Last evening's killing are being seen as revenge for an offensive by security troops against the militants.
Adivasis, who migrated to Assam more than 100 years ago, have been targeted by Bodo rebels in the past along with Muslim settlers in the state. The Bodos are an indigenous tribe in Assam, making up 10 per cent of the state's 33 million people.
Adivasis oppose the Bodo claim for an independent homeland, arguing that in many areas of the state, their ethnic group is in the majority.
At least 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Assam in the last three decades. In May, rebels from the same group shot and killed more than 30 Muslim settlers in the region.
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