‘Over 500 lives lost to militancy in state over last 5 years’

  • | Friday | 15th February, 2019

Guwahati: Militancy has claimed over 500 lives in Assam in the last five years, with almost half of the victims being civilians. Security forces have gunned down some 20 militants in 2018 in counter-terrorism operations,” said a top state police official. “At least 14 security forces and 247 militants were also killed within the same period. The seizures also reveal that besides firearms, bullets of AK-47 rifles were smuggled into the state in very high numbers. At an average of some 561 arms annually, a total of 2585 firearms were seized in the last five years in the state.

Guwahati: Militancy has claimed over 500 lives in Assam in the last five years, with almost half of the victims being civilians. Though the number of such casualties have come down over the years, with most of the militant groups joining peace talks, hardliner factions continue to strike.Official figures say between 2014 and 2018, at least 246 civilians were killed in militancy-related incidents in the state, while there were a total of 507 such deaths. “At least 14 security forces and 247 militants were also killed within the same period. In 2019, no casualty has been reported so far,” records say.The statistics highlight that during this duration,the number of civilian casualties (29) was the lowest in 2017. At least six civilians, three security forces and 20 militants were killed in Assam that year.“Last year, some 13 civilians were killed, including five innocent persons at Kherbari village in Tinsukia district. Security forces have gunned down some 20 militants in 2018 in counter-terrorism operations,” said a top state police official. Last year, Bhaskar Kalita, the then officer-in-charge of Bordumsa police station in Tinsukia district, was killed by Ulfa (Independent) faction.In 2014-15, when insurgency was on a high and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) faction perpetrated massacres in several areas of the state, 194 civilians were killed. Six security personnel and 166 militants were also killed in these two years, the records add.Sources added that flooding of illegal firearms in the state from across the border has been fueling militancy here. At an average of some 561 arms annually, a total of 2585 firearms were seized in the last five years in the state. “The majority of the illegal arms were seized in lower Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts. The seizures also reveal that besides firearms, bullets of AK-47 rifles were smuggled into the state in very high numbers. Out of some 12,143 live bullets seized in the state within this time period, at least 970 were of AK-47 alone,” the official added.

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