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Thirty killed as Muslims, tribals clash
INDIAN police battled with rampaging mobs today, killing four people, in a bid to contain clashes between Muslims and tribal groups in the north-east that have claimed 30 lives, officials said.Despite a curfew and shoot-on-sight orders, police struggled to quash the violence that erupted on Saturday after Muslims allegedly attacked guards from the Bodo tribal group in an area of Assam state bordering Bhutan. At least 30 people have been killed since then, including 14 in police firing, and more than 100 injured, the state's home ministry said today, as villagers attacked each other with machetes, spears and homemade guns. "We have asked security forces to take all possible steps to stop the violence and help restore calm in the area", Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said as the violence spread. Police today shot dead four armed rioters trying to torch a village in the Udalguri region, about 120km north of Assam's main city, Guwahati. Police and paramilitary troops opened fire in at least three separate locations in an attempt to stave off arson attacks, officials said. More than 400 homes have been burnt and at least 30,000 people have fled their villages in an area partly controlled by the Bodos under a deal that saw the majority of the tribal people abandon claims for a separate homeland. Authorities suspect an extremist Bodo group of being behind the attacks on Muslims, but other groups in the insurgency-hit state also appear to have joined the fighting. Officials have been surprised by the clashes between the Muslims and the Bodos, who have coexisted peacefully for decades until fighting broke out between them in August, leaving 10 people dead. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades. Posted by: tipper 2008-10-05 |
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