Northeast Insurgency Scenario Improves: Ministry of Home Affairs

GUWAHATI: Militancy and allied activities have significantly come down in the Northeast including Assam since 2009. This picture is evident from a recent report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (upto December 31, 2018) which states, “The year 2018 witnessed the lowest number of insurgency incidents and civilian deaths since 1997. Compared to 2017, insurgency incidents have registered a decline of 18% in 2018.” This has been possible owing to major initiatives of the government and the security forces.

While there is almost no insurgency in Tripura and Mizoram, insurgency-related violence declined by 48% in Meghalaya, 40% in Arunachal Pradesh, 16% in Assam and 24% in Manipur in 2018 compared to 2017, the report added.

There has been a marked improvement in the insurgency-related scenario in Assam as well. Such incidents came down to 28 in 2018 from 402 in 2009. Similarly, 133 extremists were arrested in 2018 while 359 were held in 2009.

On the other hand in 2009, a total of 194 extremists were killed while in 2018 only five ultras died in operations. In 2009, 616 extremists surrendered in Assam. In 2018, 13 ultras laid down arms.

The number of security forces killed in insurgency-related incidents across Assam in 2009 was 22; but in 2018 only one security personnel lost life in such cases.

The total civilians killed in such ultra-related incidents in the State were 152; however, in 2018 seven civilians lost their lives.

Altogether 91 persons were kidnapped or abducted in 2008; however the number of such person in 2018 is six in Assam.

The MHA report also stated that operations against all the militant outfits including NDFB (S) are on in the region. Giving details, the report said that from December 23, 2014 to November 30, 2018, altogether 1,121 cadres and linkmen of NDFB (S) were arrested, and a huge quantity of arms and ammunitions recovered from them. Besides, 63 cadres of the outfit have been neutralized in operations. In 2018, ‘Counter-Insurgency Operations’ led to the neutralization of 34 militants, arrest of 804 others and the recovery of 420 weapons in the region as a whole.

Insurgency-related incidents in the North East region came down to 252 in 2018 from 308 in 2017. Similarly, there was 25% reduction in number of deaths of civilians and security forces personnel in 2018. In 2017, there were 49 such cases whereas it came down to 37 in 2018.

Compared to 2013, insurgency incidents declined significantly by 66%, civilians casualties by 79%, casualties among security forces by 23% and kidnapping or abduction cases by 62% in the region in 2018.

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