NEW DELHI, 28 Apr: Incidents of insurgency in the northeastern states reduced by 80 percent in the last eight years, while casualties of security forces went down by 75 percent and civilian deaths by 99 percent, an official report said.
According to the annual report of the ministry of home affairs (MHA), the security situation in the northeastern states has improved substantially since 2014 and the year 2020 recorded the lowest insurgency incidents and casualties among civilians and security forces during the last two decades.
“Compared to 2014, there has been an 80 percent reduction in insurgency incidents in 2020. Similarly, in this period, security forces casualties have come down by 75 percent and civilian deaths by 99 percent,” the report said.
The year 2020 saw a decline of about 27 percent in insurgency incidents (223 incidents in 2019 and 162 incidents in 2020) and 72 percent in casualties of civilian and security forces personnel (25 in 2019 and 7 in 2020), compared to 2019.
The report said counter-insurgency operations led to neutralisation of 21 insurgents, arrest of 646 insurgents and recovery of 305 weapons in 2020 in the region.
As many as 2,644 operatives of insurgent groups of the northeastern states surrendered their arms in 2020 and joined the mainstream.
While Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura remain by and large peaceful, there is a marked improvement in the security situation in other states of the region.
In 2020, insurgency-related violence declined by 42 percent in Arunachal Pradesh, 12 percent in Assam, 23 percent in Manipur and 45 percent in Nagaland, compared to 2019, the report said. (PTI)
