Indian villagers protest as army kills 13, fearing rebels

By WASBIR HUSSAIN
Associated Press

GAUHATI, India (AP) — Angry villagers have burned army vehicles in protest after more than a dozen people were killed by soldiers who mistakenly believed some of them were militants in India’s remote northeast region along the border with Myanmar, officials say. Nagaland state’s top elected official ordered a probe into the killings, which occurred on Saturday. An army officer said the soldiers fired at a truck after receiving intelligence about a movement of insurgents in the area and killed six people. As irate villagers burned two army vehicles, the soldiers fired at protesters and killed seven more people. One soldier was killed in the clash with protesters. Government forces are battling dozens of ethnic insurgent groups in India’s northeast.