The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and security forces are both equally guilty of violating basic rights of the common people, leading to the death of as many as 242 persons in 413 insurgency-related incidents in Assam during 2006. This was stated in a report compiled by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) that was released today.

The report said security forces, including the Army and Central Paramilitary Forces, committed “blatant” human rights violations, while armed underground groups were responsible for “gross violation” of international humanitarian laws, with the common man being the worst victim of the crossfire.

“Armed groups were responsible for gross violations of international humanitarian laws, especially by targeting civilians through explosive devices. As per records of the state Government, as many as 191 persons were killed and 1,276 were injured in bomb blasts triggered by these groups in Assam between 2001 and 2006. As many as 1,536 civilians were killed in the armed conflict during the same period,” the ACHR report said.

The report particularly held militant groups—primarily the ULFA— responsible for the death of 1,214 people in Assam between May 2001 and May 2006. “Of these, 1,031 were civilians, 183 security forces personnel,” it said.

The report also quoted from the Union Home Ministry and said while 254 people were killed in 398 insurgency-related incidents in Assam during 2005, at least 242 persons were killed in 413 incidents during 2006. “The armed groups were responsible for indiscriminate killings of civilians,” the report said, listing at least 23 specific cases, which included death of a 10-year old child in a blast at a vegetable market in Guwahati to a tea estate manager in Upper Assam.

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