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Indian Assam rebels threaten violence if ignored
Separatist rebels in Assam warned on Tuesday of more violence if New Delhi ignored their latest offer for talks, reported Reuters. The warning came two weeks ahead of India's Aug. 15 Independence day celebrations, a target for rebel attacks in the past. In 2004 Assamese separatists bombed an Independence day function in the state killing 22 people, mostly children. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered to talk to the rebels, but only if they give up violence first. The rebels, fighting for an independent Assam, say they want to talk -- but without pre-conditions -- and wrote to Singh last month. "If the central government does not respond to our offer, we shall have no other alternative but to step up our campaign," the United Liberation Force of Asom (ULFA) said. ULFA demand independence for the oil-and-tea rich state of 26 million people. Their armed struggle has killed more than 15,000 people since 1979. A senior intelligence official, refusing to be named, said it was unlikely that peace talks could be held without the guerrillas giving up violence. The rebels have blasted oil pipelines, targeted government buildings, kidnapped business executives and triggered explosions on trains and in crowded public places during their long campaign. The seven far-flung states of northeast India are wracked by at least two dozen other insurgencies.
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