10-11-2005, 12:41 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Army out in Karbi after clashes kill 14 villagers </b>
Syed Zarir Hussain / Guwahati
Rival tribals set 400 houses on fire -------- Army soldiers were called out on Monday to quell ethnic clashes in Assam, where 14 villagers were killed in a fresh wave of violence, taking the toll to 31 in one week of violence.
Officials said at least 400 houses were set ablaze by rival tribesmen in separate raids since Sunday night in eastern Assam's Karbi Anglong district. A police spokesperson said about 80 armed Karbi tribals on Monday attacked village Kheroni, 290 km east of Guwahati.
"Five Dimasa tribal villagers, including two women, were killed when the mob armed with sophisticated weapons opened fire after asking the people to come out of their homes," Karbi Anglong district magistrate DD Tripathi said over telephone from the Diphu headquarters.
The rampaging mob then set ablaze houses before leaving the village.
The attack was in retaliation to weeklong violence in which suspected Dimasa militants belonging to the outlawed Dima Halom Daoga (DHD) killed at least 26 Karbi villagers in separate incidents.
On Sunday night, heavily armed militants of the outlawed Dima Halom Daoga (DHD) hacked to death nine villagers of the majority Karbi tribe in the district. "Six Karbis were massacred in one village and another three in an adjoining area when DHD rebels slit their throats and killed them brutally," the district magistrate said.
The DHD is a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Dimasa tribe in eastern Assam. The Karbis and the Dimasas have been engaged in a bitter turf war for many years with both the ethnic tribal groups fighting for territorial supremacy.
"Army soldiers are patrolling the violence-hit areas and staging flag marches to restore order. The situation is tense," Karbi Anglong district police chief Pankaj Sharma said.
At least 250 Karbi tribe houses, spread over six villages, were torched on Sunday, forcing thousands of villagers to flee from their homes. In retaliatory attacks, some 50 houses belonging to the Dimasas were burnt down by angry Karbi tribesmen.
"We have set up at least a dozen makeshift shelters and relief camps to lodge an estimated 7,000 villagers who had left their homes," the district magistrate said.
"We believe this is a willful design by the DHD to instigate violence to give it a communal colour."
In the adjoining Manipur State, four paramilitary Assam Rifles soldiers were killed in an ambush on Sunday, by heavily armed militants belonging to the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF).
"The Army soldiers were returning from a routine patrol when UNLF rebels attacked the troops with automatic weapons killing four on the spot," a police spokesman said from Manipur's State Capital Imphal. The incident took place in the eastern Chandel district of Manipur.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Syed Zarir Hussain / Guwahati
Rival tribals set 400 houses on fire -------- Army soldiers were called out on Monday to quell ethnic clashes in Assam, where 14 villagers were killed in a fresh wave of violence, taking the toll to 31 in one week of violence.
Officials said at least 400 houses were set ablaze by rival tribesmen in separate raids since Sunday night in eastern Assam's Karbi Anglong district. A police spokesperson said about 80 armed Karbi tribals on Monday attacked village Kheroni, 290 km east of Guwahati.
"Five Dimasa tribal villagers, including two women, were killed when the mob armed with sophisticated weapons opened fire after asking the people to come out of their homes," Karbi Anglong district magistrate DD Tripathi said over telephone from the Diphu headquarters.
The rampaging mob then set ablaze houses before leaving the village.
The attack was in retaliation to weeklong violence in which suspected Dimasa militants belonging to the outlawed Dima Halom Daoga (DHD) killed at least 26 Karbi villagers in separate incidents.
On Sunday night, heavily armed militants of the outlawed Dima Halom Daoga (DHD) hacked to death nine villagers of the majority Karbi tribe in the district. "Six Karbis were massacred in one village and another three in an adjoining area when DHD rebels slit their throats and killed them brutally," the district magistrate said.
The DHD is a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Dimasa tribe in eastern Assam. The Karbis and the Dimasas have been engaged in a bitter turf war for many years with both the ethnic tribal groups fighting for territorial supremacy.
"Army soldiers are patrolling the violence-hit areas and staging flag marches to restore order. The situation is tense," Karbi Anglong district police chief Pankaj Sharma said.
At least 250 Karbi tribe houses, spread over six villages, were torched on Sunday, forcing thousands of villagers to flee from their homes. In retaliatory attacks, some 50 houses belonging to the Dimasas were burnt down by angry Karbi tribesmen.
"We have set up at least a dozen makeshift shelters and relief camps to lodge an estimated 7,000 villagers who had left their homes," the district magistrate said.
"We believe this is a willful design by the DHD to instigate violence to give it a communal colour."
In the adjoining Manipur State, four paramilitary Assam Rifles soldiers were killed in an ambush on Sunday, by heavily armed militants belonging to the outlawed United National Liberation Front (UNLF).
"The Army soldiers were returning from a routine patrol when UNLF rebels attacked the troops with automatic weapons killing four on the spot," a police spokesman said from Manipur's State Capital Imphal. The incident took place in the eastern Chandel district of Manipur.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->