India: 49 people killed in Songbijit Brahma faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) militants attacks in Assam
The Songbijit Brahma faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) on Tuesday killed 49 people, several of them women and children, in an almost simultaneous attack on Adivasi settlers in four locations spread in two districts of Assam-Kokrajhar and Sonitpur. The attacks, all believed to have been carried out with AK-series weapons, took place between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, according to police sources.
Two days ago, the militant group had issued a press release warning the government of violent retaliation if it did not stop police operations against the group. The same day, security forces had gunned down two NDFB-S militants at an encounter during the rescue operation of a businessman along the Kokrajhar-Chirang inter district border. In the last six months, the government has intensified operations against the outfit resulting in arrest and death of a large number of cadres. A huge cache of arms including AK series of rifles have also been seized.
The four places where the attacks took place are Pabhoi reserved forest and Batasipur in Sonitpur district and Serfanguri and Ultapani in Kokrajhar district.