Highlights:
- On Monday, violent clashes erupted on the Assam-Mizoram border, with both sides blaming the other.
- Union Home Secretary will chair over the meeting in New Delhi.
- While five police officers and a civilian died on Monday, a sixth Assam cop died today as a result of his injuries.
In the aftermath of violence along the states’ shared border on Monday that killed six police officers and a civilian and injured over 50 others, the Home Ministry will meet with senior officials from Assam and Mizoram- chief secretaries and DGPs (Director General of Police).
The meeting will be chaired by Home Ministry Secretary Ajay Bhalla, who will review the border conflict and sudden escalation of violence. The session is hoped to be the first step toward restoring peace along the Assam-Mizoram border, where an uneasy calm prevails for the time being.
The centre has stated that it can only assist in the resolution of border disputes between states, emphasising that such conflicts can only be addressed with the cooperation of the governments involved.
There are seven such conflicts, four of which involve Assam. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Meghalaya are among the northeastern states that have border conflicts with Mizoram.
Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi, three districts in Assam’s Barak Valley, share a 164-kilometer border with Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit, three districts in Mizoram.
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The Barak Democratic Front (a local political organisation) has declared a dawn-to-dusk bandh throughout the whole Barak Valley region of Assam, demanding a lasting settlement to the border dispute.
On Monday, violence erupted in these neighbourhoods, with one side accusing the other.
Mizoram has been accused by Assam of constructing a road through a protected forest in Lailapur and establishing an armed camp. It claimed its security personnel were attacked by miscreants and later, Mizoram police.
According to Mizoram, the incident began after Assam Police crossed the border and “overran” a police post in Kolasib, smashing cars and firing on its personnel.
According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a member of Assam’s 6th Police Battalion died this morning after being badly hurt in the fighting. This brings the total number of deaths to seven.
A delegation from the Assam Congress is due to visit the border areas today.
For decades, conflicts have erupted along the border, with residents and security personnel on both sides accusing the other of intruding. The most recent incidence occurred in June.
