India army hunts down rebels after Assam massacre

Indian rebel group carries out latest round of violent attacks in northern India | Photo: AFP

Suspected fighters of a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) attacked four villages in the space of an hour on Tuesday, pulling people out of their homes and shooting them dead.

The Indian government has deployed military helicopters on Thursday today to track down tribal fighters in the northeastern state of Assam after the insurgents killed 75 people this week.

An additional of 5,000 military officers have arrived in Assam in response to this week's attacks, the government reported.

Suspected fighters of a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) attacked four villages in the space of an hour on Tuesday, pulling people out of their homes and shooting them dead.

“The violence is not merely a case of insurgency but one of terrorism. We are going to deal with this sternly, “ Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters.

Singh went on to note that the central government "will adopt a zero tolerance policy" towards terrorism and declared that "there would be no talks at any cost" with such militant outfits.

The NDFB is an armed separatist group for the ethnic Bodo people, which have accused New Delhi of squandering their state's resources and flooding the area with outsiders.

According to IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC), 195 attacks were attributed to the different NDFB factions between 1 January 2013 and 26 May 2014, which is an average of more than two attacks per week.

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