Reacting to the civilian killings in Mon district of Nagaland on December 4, an insurgent group in the state issued a statement promising that “the blood of the innocent spilled will be avenged sooner or later”. “We hope that our people will understand when we initiate such measures,” it says.

Fifteen people – fourteen civilians and a solider – died in a firing incident in Nagaland’s Mon district on Saturday evening. A group of daily-wage labourers from Oting village were returning home from a coal mine in a pick-up van when they were allegedly shot at by security forces, who claimed they had planned a counter-insurgency operation “based on credible intelligence”.

In its statement, insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) said that it had, so far, restrained itself from conducting operations against “the sadistic occupiers in the Indian Military, keeping in mind the wishes of our people who are in the quest for peaceful atmosphere.”

“But what have our people received from the shameless occupiers for trying to achieve our goal peacefully? Nothing. Only tortured rapes, manslaughter and untold miseries unleashed from time to time,” the statement says.

It condemns the incident and expresses condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased civilians.

The statement has been issued by the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagaland (GPRN) which is a government-in-exile established by separatist group NSCN.