At least 14 civilians were killed by Indian forces in the northeast

By Zarir Hussain

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) – At least 14 civilian tribesmen and security personnel were killed when Indian forces opened indiscriminate shootings in a remote northeastern state of Nagaland, government and military officials said on Sunday.

Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah said he was “overwhelmed” by the news that civilians were killed on Saturday night.

Nagaland’s chief minister Neiphiu told Reuters that an investigation would be carried out and that the culprits would be punished in the incident, which he blamed for a mental failure.

At least a dozen civilians and several members of the security forces were injured in the attack, a New Delhi-based Federal Ministry of Defense official said.

Nagaland residents have often complained that the forces have misled local innocents in rebel operations against rebel groups.

The incident took place in and around the town of Oting in the Mon district, on the border with Myanmar, during a riot against members of Assam Rifles, part of the deployment of Indian security forces, a senior Nagaland-based police official said.

The shootings began when a truck carrying 30 or more coal miners was passing by the Assam Rifles camp.

“Troops had information about some militant movements in the area and when they saw the truck, the miners were rebellious and shot and killed six workers,” a senior police official told Reuters, requesting anonymity, as he was not allowed to speak. journalists.

“Following the news of the shootings in the village, hundreds of tribes surrounded the camp. They burned Assam Rifles vehicles and clashed with soldiers using raw weapons,” he said.

Members of the Assam Rifles group were retaliated against, and in the second attack eight other civilians and a member of the security were among the dead, authorities said.

In recent years, India has tried to persuade Myanmar to expel rebels from the thick jungle bases in the region bordering Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.