Assam Rifles engages in ‘minor confrontation’ with NSCN (IM) in Nagaland forest: Report

The incident, which took place on Friday evening in Nagaland’s Intangi National Park, lasted for about 40 minutes but was not serious.
A group of Assam Rifles and NSCN (IM) personnel engaged in a “minor encounter” in Intangi National Park in Nagaland, an army source said on Saturday.

The incident, which took place on Friday evening, lasted about 40 minutes, but was not serious, he said.

“Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, various teams of Assam Rifles were on patrol for 72 to 96 hours.

One such patrol, while returning from its assigned mission, took a break at Intangi National Park around 4 pm on Friday.

“During the break, the patrolling team observed NSCN (IM) personnel moving in the same direction and there was a minor skirmish between the two parties,” he said.

According to the ceasefire agreement, the Assam Rifles patrol chief “decided to disengage his troops to ensure that the incident does not escalate”, the source said.

In a video of the incident, the paramilitary forces said they lost their way in the discussion between the two sides.

However, PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Notably, a framework agreement was signed in 2015 between the Center and the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaac-Muiva) to reach a “mutually acceptable” way to resolve Naga political issues.

The framework agreement came after 80 rounds of negotiations since a ceasefire was sealed in 1997 following decades of insurgency in Nagaland that began after independence in 1947.

However, the final solution is yet to see the light of day.