Army Chief claims improvement in northeast region

Shillong, July 20 (ANI): Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh has said the situation in the northeast region has improved, and the need of the hour is to handle the administration properly.

"The situation in northeast has improved by leaps and bounds. Lots of things have happened, whether it is Assam, whether it is Manipur, whether it is other states. All that is needed now, how we administratively handle the situation," Singh told reporters.

He also asked for legal protection for the Army like police personnel got when deployed in counter-insurgency operations.

When asked about the move to dilute certain sections of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Singh said: "We are not against the people or democracy.

"When you employ the army for situations which are awkward... where they have to face well-armed, well-trained terrorists, they require a certain amount of legal protection. How that it is done, we leave it to the Central government," he added.

India's northeastern region is home to over 200 tribes and over 50 rebel groups are active in the region.

The region has been facing insurgencies for nearly fice decades. Dozens of tribal organisations have been demanding a separate homeland or greater autonomy. (ANI)