GUWAHATI: Insurgency-related incidents in the Northeast declined by over 36 per cent during the year 2017 compared to the previous year, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the year 2017-2018.
According to data revealed by the ministry, insurgency-related activities in the region came down to 308 in 2017 as against 484 in 2016. In fact, insurgency-related incidents in 2017 were the lowest since 1997.
As it is, barring just one year (2014) in between, there has been a marked decline in such violence, since 2012 when 1025 such incidents were reported, the MHA annual report said. The figure came down to 732 in 2013, then went up to 824 in 2014 only to come down to 574 in 2015.
The statistics revealed by the MHA are encouraging from the point of view of the region’s security situation which has remained complex for quite some time because of diverse demands of ethnic groups and various militant outfits.
Meghalaya, which had bore the brunt of Garo militancy since 2010-11, has seen a significant improvement in the security situation with just 28 violent incidents reported in 2017 as against 68 in 2016, which is a decline by over 58 per cent, the report revealed.
The number of civilian casualties in the state has decreased by 75 per cent (just two in 2017 as against eight in 2016). The number of militants killed (15 in 2016 and six in 2017) and the number of cadres arrested (59 in 2016 and 13 in 2017) saw a decline by 60 per cent and 78 per cent respectively, the report stated.
Sources say intensified counter-insurgency operations have led to a significant decline in militancy activities in Meghalaya, with the raising of a special commando group, Special Force 10 (SF-10) in 2016, adding teeth to the operations in Garo Hills.
The trends in the other states were encouraging as well with the number of insurgency incidents in 2017 declining substantially in Nagaland by 67 per cent, Assam by 56 per cent, and Manipur by 28 per cent compared to 2016, the report said.
Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura had no insurgency related violence in 2017.
There was however a 22 per cent increase in insurgency related violence in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017 despite the state not having any active indigenous insurgent group.
Counter-insurgency operations by the security forces in the Northeast have led to neutralisation of 57 militants, arrest of 995 militants and recovery of 432 weapons in 2017. The number of kidnapping/abduction related incidents also declined by 40 per cent in 2017 compared to the previous year.
Compared to 2013, insurgency incidents in 2017 declined significantly by 58 per cent, civilian casualties by 66 per cent, security forces’ casualties by 34 per cent and abduction cases by 67 per cent.