At least 16 dead, many injured in twin bomb blasts in Nagaland
Gauhati (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Two explosions minutes apart killed at least 16 people in India's northeastern state of Nagaland on Saturday, a police official said. At least 100 people were wounded.
The first blast occurred in a railway station in Dimapur, Nagaland's commercial hub, killing 12 people and wounding many others. Within minutes, a second blast went off in a market in the city, killing four people and wounding an unknown number of shoppers. Shopkeepers were opening up for business in the popular "Hong Kong" market on Saturday when the explosion occurred.
The blast in the railway station occurred shortly before a train was to arrive from neighbouring Assam state and the main platform was crowded with passengers awaiting the train. At least 40 people were injured and had been taken to hospitals across Dimapur.
Police said no group had claimed responsibility yet.
Nagaland has two main separatist groups that have fought for a separate Naga homeland since 1956.
The Indian government has been engaged in peace negotiations with one faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), headed by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, since signing a cease-fire agreement in 1997.
There is also a cease-fire agreement with the rival NSCN faction, headed by S.S. Khaplang, but no formal talks have been initiated with it.
More than 15,000 people died in the Nagaland conflict before the government and rebels agreed to the August 1997 cease-fire. The NSCN was responsible for a similar explosion at the Timupur railway station in 1993, but at that time it was fighting against India.
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23/12/2020 10:02
