Assam Has Witnessed Over 2,417 Terror Attacks Over 9 Years

12 people were killed and many were injured after two terrorists opened fire at a crowded market in Kokrajhar town of assam on Friday. Wearing army outfits, the terrorists came in an auto-rickshaw and started firing at a weekly market at Balajan Tiniali, 220 km away from the capital Guwahati. A grenade was also thrown by one of the terrorists which set a building to fire.

More than 2000 terrorist attacks over 9 years
Security forces killed one of the terrorists while the other one escaped. The police have blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which fought a violent decades-long campaign for a separate homeland for the region’s ethnic Bodo people. According to a data shared by the home ministry, Assam has witnessed 2,417 terrorist attacks over nine years to April 30, 2016, according to home ministry data. Over this period, 3,782 alleged terrorists were arrested and 865 died; 108 security forces and 1001 civilians also died.

A brutal history
Assam holds a long history of terrorism in the state. There are several organisations that advocate the independence of the state. Delhi has given special administrative autonomy to the Bodos in the state. However, the Bodos demanded a separate Bodoland, which led to a clash between the Bengalis, the Bodos, and the indian military resulting in hundreds of deaths.

ULFA threat
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has carried out several terrorist attacks in the region targeting the Indian Military and non-combatants. The group assassinated political opponents, attacks police and other security forces, blasts railroad tracks, and attacks other infrastructure facilities. The ULFA is believed to have strong links with Maoists and Naxals.