India stops operations in Assam

14 Aug, 2006

India said Sunday it was suspending anti-insurgency operations in north-eastern Assam state for 10 days despite a week-long wave of bombings that has left 10 dead and wounded 50 more.
"All anti-insurgency operations in the state have been suspended with immediate effect for a period of 10 days as a good will gesture from the Indian government," S. Kabilan, the state's top bureaucrat, told AFP.
Police however would continue to maintain law and order, he added.
India's north-east is home to more than 30 rebel separatist groups with demands ranging from greater autonomy to complete secession.
More than 50,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam since India gained independence from Britain in 1947.

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