400 rebels surrender in India’s restive northeast

GAUHATI, India (AP) – Hundreds of separatist rebels laid down arms and surrendered to authorities Thursday in India’s insurgency-wracked northeastern state of Assam, a top police official said.

More than 400 rebels of the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front in remote Assam state emerged from their jungle hide-outs and laid down their weapons at a surrender ceremony in a soccer stadium in the town of Diphu, said Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, inspector-general of police.

The Karbi rebels have been fighting for the past two decades seeking an independent homeland for the Karbi tribes people in southern Assam.

Under an agreement reached with the federal government, the rebels will live in specially designated camps before peace talks can begin, Mahanta said.

New Delhi has launched a strategy of talking with different rebel groups in the region in a bid to end years of violence in the remote northeastern states.

The government is ready to hold peace talks with any rebel group that is sincere about resolving its problems, said Gopal K. Pillai, federal home secretary.

Dozens of rebel groups have been fighting for years in India’s seven northeastern states, demanding greater regional autonomy or independent homelands for indigenous peoples. The rebel groups accuse the federal government of exploiting the region’s rich mineral resources and timber, while neglecting the people’s welfare.

At least 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in Assam state alone because of fighting between government forces and insurgent groups.