It's almost time for me to finish blogging for the day.
"Curfew in India state after rebels kill 63" by Anupam Nath, Associated Press December 25, 2014
SHAMUKJULI, India — Hundreds of survivors of a brutal rebel attack that killed at least 63 people in northeastern India sought shelter Wednesday in a church and school while security forces imposed a curfew in a bid to contain the latest bout of ethnic violence.
Long-simmering land and ethnic disputes in Assam state erupted in bloodshed Tuesday when authorities said rebels belonging to a faction of an indigenous separatist group called the National Democratic Front of Bodoland attacked tribal settlers known as Adivasi. Most of the Adivasis, whose ancestors migrated to Assam more than 100 years ago, have worked on tea plantations.
About 100 people, mostly women and children, sought refuge in a church in Shamukjuli village in Sonitpur district, where 26 victims died. Another 200 people ran to a nearby school. The Adivasis are a mix of Hindus and Christians and many had been preparing for Christmas when the attack took place, survivors said.
Bodo rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for their indigenous tribe, which makes up 10 percent of Assam’s 33 million people. They have staged attacks against both Adivasi and Muslim settlers in violence that has left at 10,000 people dead, most of them civilians, in the last three decades. In May, the same rebels group shot and killed more than 30 Muslims.
Many of the dead in Tuesday’s attacks included children, police said. The rebels may have been provoked by losses they suffered recently as police intensified operations against the group, said S.N. Singh, a top police official.
‘‘We are trying to ensure that ethnic violence does not flare up,’’ he said, adding that a curfew was imposed in two districts and police and paramilitary forces patrolled the area.
There were fears the violence could spill over. Following the attacks, angry Adivasis surrounded a police station in Sonitpur and tried to attack the officers inside, Singh said.
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