Salwa Judum backfires

26 killed as Maoists unleash a coordinated attack on a camp where the movement’s cadre stayed.

NEW DELHI: In one of their biggest and well planned attacks, Maoists killed at least 26, critically injured another 21 and abducted over 30 persons at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh last night.

In an operation similar to the recent assault on Jehanabad jail in Bihar, about 700 Left extremists participated in the attack which was carried out around 1 am at three different points simultaneously: The police station, the local Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp and the Salwa Judum camp where activists involved in the campaign stayed.

The fiercest attack was at the CRPF post, aimed at pinning down the force, while the main target was the Salwa Judum camp where the activists had that very day deposited their arms. The naxalites also made it a point not to use any firearms in the attack on Salwa Judum activists to avoid any great noise and attract attention. They used other traditional arms like bows and arrows, lathis and hatchets, killing 26 on the spot.

The attack lasted about two hours. The Naxalites escaped into nearby jungles, taking with them some people from the camp. No one had been caught so far.

Unofficial reports said about 250 people were missing following the attack. About 4000 people had taken shelter in the camp. The state was in constant touch with the centre and a military helicopter has been sought to evacuate the injured.

In a release, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) condemned the killing by the Naxalites in the Arabore relief camp by the Naxalites as “barbaric and a crime against humanity”. At least 460 persons including 90 security personnel, 189 alleged Naxalites and 181 civilians were killed in nine Naxalite-affected states during January - June 2006, stated ACHR in its latest issue of the Naxal Conflict Monitor.