At least 17 die in indian violence

At least 17 people, including a six-month-old child, were killed and many wounded in fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers at the weekend in India's northeastern Assam state, police said today. Authorities imposed a night-time curfew to prevent more violence and federal troops moved into remote areas to deal with threats of more violence. About 50,000 villagers fled their homes and took shelter in relief camps out of fear, said Donald Gilfellon, a senior civil servant in the Kokrajhar district, adding that 37 camps were set up to help the refugees and more would be opened if needed,the local press reported. Sparking the clashes, unidentified men killed four youths on Friday night in the state's Bodo tribe dominated Kokrajhar district, police and district officials said. In retaliation, armed Bodos attacked Muslims, suspecting them to be behind the killings. Police said unidentified groups set ablaze houses, schools, and vehicles, firing indiscriminately from automatic weapons in populated areas. The body of a six-month-old child was found by villagers on a river bank along with the body of a woman yesterday, police said. "Seventeen people have died in the violence. Many people have left their homes because of insecurity and they are living in relief camps," a senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said.