Naga rebels agree to extend truce
The Indian government and tribal separatist guerrillas agreed to extend a truce in the northeast by another year -- just days before it was due to expire, a rebel leader said yesterday.
There were fears the five-year-old truce in Nagaland state, slated to run out April 28, could collapse.
But home ministry officials and leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland's S.S. Khaplang faction (NSCN-K) met in New Delhi Friday and agreed in principle to extend the ceasefire by 12 months, Kughalo Mulatonu, one of the rebel leaders, told AFP. There was no immediate government comment.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The NSCN-K, an influential Christian Naga group fighting for an independent homeland in Nagaland, struck the truce with New Delhi in 2001.
Its fate was in doubt after the group accused Indian soldiers of backing a rival group headed by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah.
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