Centre, Assam govt to sign peace accord with 8 Adivasi militant outfits today

Guwahati: The Centre and Assam government will sign a tripartite peace accord with eight Adivasi militant outfits of Assam in New Delhi today, 10 years after the peace process started.
The peace agreements will be signed in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The eight rebel groups are Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi People's Army (APA), All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) and Santhali Tiger Force (STF) and the remaining three outfits are splinter groups of BCF, AANLA and ACMA.
Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi People's Army (APA), All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) and Santhali Tiger Force (STF) have been in a ceasefire with the government since 2012 and since then the cadres of the militant outfits are staying in designated camps.
"I am sure signing of the agreement will usher in a new era of peace & harmony in Assam," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
On January 27 this year, a total of 246 insurgents of two militant groups of the state laid down their arms and returned to the mainstream.
In an arms laying ceremonial function held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati, 169 insurgents of United Gorkha People's Organisation (UGPO) and 77 insurgents of Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) laid down their arms before Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Chief Executive Member of BTR Pramod Boro, CEM TAC Jibon Chandra Konwar. (ANI)