India: Ethnic Clashes in Assam Need Humanitarian Intervention

India: Ethnic Clashes in Assam

Hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in overcrowded camps in Assam in northeast India desperately need humanitarian assistance after fleeing ethnic violence, DanChurchAid’s staff in New Delhi reports. An assessment of the situation has been carried out by DanChurchAid’s local partners to identify key humanitarian needs of the dis...

08.08.2012

© DCA

A mother with her newborn child in the relief camp.

The conflict that ripped through parts of Assam erupted from an incidence of killing during 20th July. The violence escalated between Bodo and Bengali Muslim community in Kokrajhar district and then spread to three other districts- Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon -killing and displacing many people.

“People from both the communities are running to a safer place for shelter. The state government has set up 278 relief camps where around 400,000 inmates have taken shelter. Government reports 58 deaths, but there are many unreported causalities as informed by local people,” says DanChurchAid’s Humanitarian Response Officer in South Asia, Aditi Ghosh.

All sensitive areas are heavily patrolled by deployment of Police Battalions and Army personnel and curfew has been imposed in these areas.

Poor living conditions in the camps

© DCA

Snapshot from the camp.

People have taken shelter in the government school buildings. The living condition in the camps is poor and unhygienic due to overcrowding reports DanChurchAid’s partners CASA, IGSSS and LWSIT.

“Most of the internally displaced people have lost their home, property, cattle and belongings. There is lack of adequate food and clothes for the inmates of the camps, and children in particular are lacking nutritious food,” says Aditi Ghosh.

There is also a crisis of fire wood to cook food.  In some camps, food is being provided by the government.

Critical need for humanitarian assistance

“There is critical need to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced population living in the camps. In addition, efforts will have to be made to rehabilitate the population permanently in the long run,” states Aditi Ghosh, Humanitarian Response Officer in South Asia.

DanChurchAid and its local partners in India will closely follow the situation in Assam.