Latest statistics show insurgency slowing down in Assam

Guwahati, Jun 11 (UNI) The latest statistics from the Union Home Ministry have shown that insurgency is slowing down significantly over the last one and half decades in Assam, official sources said.

Substantiating the long-standing claim of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that insurgency was on the wane, the latest figures reinforced the general perception that insurgency was slowing down.

The statistics made available by the Home Ministry suggested that the 1998-2001 period was the worst and after that period, things had started looking up, except the aberration of last year.

''The worst is already over,'' the Chief Minister said, hoping that with growing popular resistance against militancy and change of heart of those who had strayed to militancy, things would further improve.

The figures showed that since 1992, a staggering 6,745 people had lost their lives in insurgency-related incidents of which 3,594 were civilians while 748 of them were security personnel and the remaining 2,407 were terrorists.

Various insurgent groups, including the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Dima Halong Dauga (DHD), United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), waged low-intensity wars against the state over this period.

The figures also showed that 2006 was the year with the least violence when altogether 174 persons were killed and of them 66 were insurgents, in comparison to the all time high of 327 persons killed in 2000.

''This slowdown is due to the sustained counter-insurgency operations carried out jointly by the Army and security forces,'' GOC in 4 corps Lt Gen B S Jaswal said.

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