Northeast India violence: death toll rise to 53

The death toll from ethnic clashes in the northeastern Indian state of Assam on Saturday rose to 52 as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited relief camps and ordered a thorough investigation into the violence. "There will be proper inquiry into the circumstances. We will work closely with the state government to provide a sense of security, to ensure life and livelihoods are secure," Premier Manmohan Singh said, according to Indian news agency (PTI). More than 400,000 people fled their homes after a week of deadly clashes that started on July 19 when members of the local Bodo tribe clashed with immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. The refugees had been put up in the over 200 relief camps set up in Kokrajhar and adjoining districts of Chirang and Dhubri. "The immediate challenge is to provide a healing touch to the victims," Singh said in a televised press briefing in Assam's principal town Guwahati after visiting the camps in Kokrajhar. "This is no time for recriminations. We need to first help the people to rehabilitate and bring peace," Singh added. He also announced a relief package of 3 billion rupees (about $54 million) for rehabilitation efforts. The clashes are the latest in a long-simmering conflict between Bodos and the settlers over rights to land as well as other issues. The situation in the affected districts was still tense but stabilizing with large numbers of paramilitary troopers deployed to hold peace, LR Bishnoi of Assam's police, said. The international rights group Human Rights Watch said tensions had been building for more than two months between the Bodo and Muslim communities, which have clashed in the past over access to land and resources. The group urged authorities to rescind the "shoot-on-sight" orders and "promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible while addressing the underlying causes of the clashes".