ConflictBarometer_2015

ASIA AND OCEANIA
United Liberation Front of Assam Independent faction (ULFA-
I) against the Hindi-speaking population continued. ULFA-I
further opposed ethnic Biharis and Bengalis. Militant Bodos,
such as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland I.K. Songbijit
faction (NDFB-S), did not conduct violent attacks against
Adivasis as in previous years, but continued their armed
fight for an independent Bodoland [→ India (ULFA-I et al. /
Assam)]. Furthermore, indigenous groups, such as Adivasis,
Assamese and Bodos, carried on non-violent protests against
Bangladeshi immigrants.
On July 14, members of ULFA-I shot dead two Hindi-speaking
people and injured three in Tinsukia district. The following
day, Tinsukia residents organized demonstrations and road
blockades demanding protection against ULFA-I. When police
forces tried to disperse the protests, they killed one person
and injured up to ten. Demanding a stop to the demonstrations,
ULFA-I threatened to conduct more violent actions
against the Hindi-speaking population. They also urged two
civil Bihari organizations to stop their activities, accusing
them to work against the indigenous population. On December
1, ULFA-I militants shot at a group of Hindi-speaking
people in Dibrugarh district, injuring two.
After NDFB-S had killed at least 64 Adivasis, most of them
Santhals, in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts in December
2014, over 100,000 Adivasis and Bodos were internally displaced
by the end of 2014. During the first three months of
2015, student organizations such as the All Bodo Students'
Union (ABSU), the All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam
(AASAA), and the Assam Tea Tribes Association repeatedly
staged joint sit-ins, demonstrations, strikes and road blockades.
They collectively appealed to the government to take
action against NDFB-S and to increase support for Adivasis
and Bodos affected by the 2014 attacks.
In the context of the actualization of the National Register of
Citizens in July, members of indigenous tribes held demonstrations
and submitted memoranda to the state and central
government. They demanded that Bangladeshis who had immigrated
before 1971 would not be acknowledged as citizens
of Assam. On September 9, the central government allowed
Bangladeshis, who were persecuted for religious reasons in
their home country to stay in Assam [→ Bangladesh (Islamist
groups)]. Subsequently, indigenous' protests intensified. For
instance, on November 17, the All Assam Students Union
organized a demonstration with thousands of participants in
Morigaon, eponymous district, followed by a sit-in in front of
the district court.
Throughout the year, ethnic Assamese, Bodos and Santhals
staged several demonstrations for the enhancement of their
rights, more autonomy or the legal acknowledgement as a
Scheduled Tribe. juh
INDIA (JEM ET AL. / KASHMIR)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1947
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
HM, JeM, LeT, TuM vs. government
secession
The secession conflict in the state of Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) between Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen
(HM), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen
(TuM), on the one hand, and the government, on the other,
continued as a violent crisis. No activities from other groups
such as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen were reported. Throughout the
year, a total of at least 195 people died. Members of militant
groups repeatedly attempted to cross the Line of Control
(LoC) from Pakistan, but army and security forces reportedly
prevented many of these efforts. Security forces undertook a
series of extensive search operations, discovering at least 19
militant hideouts stocked with large amounts of weaponry.
In the course of the year, militants attacked the Indian police
and army numerous times, killing a total of 69 and injuring
100. Furthermore, 78 civilians were injured. For example,
on March 21, two militants opened fire in an army camp in
Kathua district using automatic weapons and grenades, killing
three Indian soldiers, two civilians and injuring eleven people.
Soldiers consequently killed both attackers. On July 29,
TuM members hurled a grenade at security forces in Anantnag
district, injuring four officers and civilians respectively. On
August 5, two Pakistani LeT militants ambushed a Border Security
Force convoy in Udhampur district, killing two soldiers.
In a subsequent search operation, security forces killed one
militant while capturing the other.
Indian security forces killed 104 militants and three civilians.
For example, on October 4, police and army forces killed the
high-ranking JeM commander Aadil Pathan and his associate
in a joint operation in Pulwama district.
Several pro-secession demonstrations took place throughout
the year. Violent clashes between protesters and security
forces erupted in Srinagar town on November 7 when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally there. Over the
course of the day, security forces using tear gas and bullets
killed one protester. The clashes lasted for another day, leaving
a total of 23 protesters and ten police officers injured.
In preparation of the event, the government had deployed
thousands of security forces to Srinagar as well as connecting
highways and had detained nearly 400 Kashmiri separatists
in order to prevent demonstrations. In total, security forces
injured 126 protesters throughout the year. jam
INDIA (MANIPUR)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1964
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Meiteis, UNLF et al., PLA, PREPAK-Pro,
KCP, KYKL, JCLIPS, Kukis, KNF vs. government
secession, autonomy
The violent crisis over autonomy and secession of Manipur
state between Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups, on the one hand,
and the government, on the other, continued. While various
civil groups held violent protests against the government
to demand the restriction of migration to Manipur, militants
fought for an independent state to be created out of varying
areas in Manipur. The latter were organized in groups such as
United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People's Liberation
Army (PLA), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak Progressive
faction (PREPAK-Pro), Kangleipak Communist Party
(KCP), and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL).
On April 17, these militant groups and four formations belonging
to Assamese, Naga, and Bodo ethnicities set up an
umbrella organization called United National Liberation Front
of West South East Asia (UNLFW) [→ India (UFLA-I et al. / Assam);
India (NSCN factions et al. / Nagaland)]. UNLFW claimed
responsibility for an ambush on soldiers of the 6th Dogra
Regiment in Chandel district on June 4, using RPGs and IEDs.
The militants killed 18 soldiers and injured eleven. This was
the highest loss in a single attack for government forces since
the mid-1990s. The same week, the government launched
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