Updated on
Summary At least 17 people were killed and several wounded in violence in Indian Assam.
According to police, at least 17 people, including a six-month-old child, were killed and many wounded in fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers at the weekend in Indias northeastern Assam state, police said on Monday.Authorities imposed a night-time curfew to prevent more violence and federal troops moved into remote areas to deal with threats of more violence.About 50,000 villagers fled their homes and took shelter in relief camps out of fear, said Donald Gilfellon, a senior civil servant in the Kokrajhar district, adding that 37 camps were set up to help the refugees and more would be opened if needed.Sparking the clashes, unidentified men killed four youths on Friday night in the states Bodo tribe dominated Kokrajhar district, police and district officials said. In retaliation, armed Bodos attacked Muslims, suspecting them to be behind the killings.Police said unidentified groups set ablaze houses, schools, and vehicles, firing indiscriminately from automatic weapons in populated areas. The body of a six-month-old child was found by villagers on a river bank along with the body of a woman on Sunday, police said.Ringed by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Indias northeast is home to more than 200 ethnic and tribal groups and has been racked by separatist revolts since Indias independence from Britain in 1947.Strong anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment against Bangladeshi settlers has emerged among Hindu and Christian tribes in recent years.Businesses, offices and schools remained closed on Monday, and streets were deserted.
