Assam, Nagaland agree to ‘move back’ forces

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31

Assam and Nagaland have inked a pact to “move back” their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Border conflict: Several clashes since 1965

• The border dispute between Assam and Nagaland began soon after Nagaland became a state in 1963
• The Nagaland State Act of 1962 had defined the state’s borders according to a 1925 notification
• Nagaland, however, did not accept border delineation
• Several major clashes have taken place on the inter-state border since 1965

In a Twitter Post, the Assam Chief Minister said, “the two states have agreed to move back their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border.”

“In a major breakthrough towards de-escalating tensions at Assam-Nagaland border, the two Chief Secretaries have arrived at an understanding to immediately withdraw states’ forces from border locations to their respective base camps,” Sarma said.

The joint statement, a copy of which was also pasted on Twitter by Sarma, read: “Both sides agreed that in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas around Ao Senden village and Vikuto Village, as known in Nagaland and in Assam they are known as Jankhona Nala/Nagajankha respectively, urgent and effective steps are required for defusing the standoff between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.”