Insurgency in NE states sees 80% drop in 8 years, civilian deaths by 99%: Govt

Incidents of insurgency in the northeastern states reduced by 80 per cent in the last eight years while casualties of security forces went down by 75 per cent and civilian deaths by 99 per cent, an official report said.

According to the annual report of the ministry of home affairs, 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 with 2014, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents in 2020. Similarly, in this period, security forces casualties have come down by 75 per cent and civilian deaths by 99 per cent," the report said.

The year 2020 saw a decline of about 27 per cent in insurgency incidents (223 incidents in 2019 and 162 incidents in 2020) and 72 per cent 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 the neutralisation of 21 insurgents, arrest of 646 insurgents and recovery of 305 weapons in 2020 in the region.

As many as 2,644 cadres of insurgent groups of the northeastern states surrendered their arms in 2020 and joined the mainstream.

While Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura remained 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 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, 12 per cent in Assam, 23 per cent in Manipur and 45 per cent in Nagaland compared to 2019, the report said.