Three suspected Naga militants killed in gunfight in Assam

Scroll.in

30-04-2025

Three suspected militants from a faction of the insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Assam's Dima Hasao district on Tuesday, reported NDTV.
The incident took place in an area between N Kubin and Herakilo under the Haflong police station limits after the suspected militants entered the district from neighbouring Nagaland, unidentified police officers told NDTV.
The gunfight broke out while personnel from the Assam Police Special Units and the Assam Rifles were conducting a search operation, unidentified police officers also told The Indian Express.
The operation was launched on Saturday after the National Highways Authority of India in Dima Hasao received an extortion letter, the newspaper reported, citing a police statement. Details were also received about an armed group, allegedly responsible for the letter, hiding in the area, it added.
'This morning [Tuesday], the search parties came across an armed group, after almost 60 hours of the search, in the area between N Kubin-Hera Kilo,' the police said. 'The armed miscreants fired on the government forces, who retaliated. There was a heavy exchange of fire.'
A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of the gunfight, according to NDTV.
Several Naga groups, including the Isak-Muivah faction of the NSCN, claim that the Nagas neither agreed to be part of the Indian union, nor did they accept the Indian Constitution. The NSCN-IM is among the oldest such groups and had been engaged in a conflict with security forces for several decades.
The Indian government signed a ceasefire agreement with the NSCN-IM in 1997.
There was, however, little headway until 2015, when the Centre signed the Framework Agreement with the group – a development publicised as a breakthrough by both sides.
Following this, conflicting claims about the agreement have led to a deadlock in the peace talks between the group and the Centre, including over the demand for a Naga flag and a separate Constitution.
The NSCN-IM also claimed that the Centre had agreed to recognise the unique history of the Nagas and the concept of 'shared sovereignty'. However, the Centre rejected the claims and said that the group had misinterpreted the 2015 agreement.
Over the past few years, the Assam government has also undertaken efforts to reintegrate militant groups in the state into the mainstream, according to The Indian Express. In 2023, a tripartite agreement was signed with the Dimasa National Liberation Army based in Dima Hasao.
The district shares a border with both Nagaland and Manipur, where factions of the NSCN are active.