Hundreds of locals gathered in Nagaland, India, on Monday for the funeral of 15 civilians killed by Indian security forces in a botched ambush and confrontation with an outraged crowd.
The funeral ceremony was conducted in tight security and periodic internet outages to tackle the unrest in the region.
As per the government officials, a security trooper and 13 laborers, belonging to the region’s primary Konyak tribe, were killed by an elite military commando unit in the northeastern state of Nagaland, after the forces in the border state mistook them for militants and straight out opened fire.
Another member of the tribe was killed during protests on Sunday over the killings, for which the government has decided to launch an inquiry.
A great number of locals defied the curfew and carried the coffins of the deceased to a public ground in the Mon district of Nagaland to conduct funeral prayers. Mourners also put wreaths on the coffins of the dead.
Later on, the mourners were joined by the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, who bashed the military over the killings and ordered an investigation.
Street protests continued across the state for a second day on Monday, the morning after a candlelight procession for the victims in state capital Kohima.
“The killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, we are Indians, not terrorists,” read a placard.
Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking in parliament said the government “expresses remorse” as the lives of innocent civilians were lost while security forces were trying to ambush the militants. He also appealed for peace in the state.
The Indian army has expressed its regret over the intelligence delay but the locals have demanded a shutdown of the army’s operations, and its camps being moved out of civilian areas.
A complaint was registered by the Police against a unit of the Special Forces in the Indian Army over the incident which said, “It is obvious that the intention of security forces is to murder and injure civilians.”
According to a police source, the situation was “tense but under control”.