India: New Ethnic Violence in the North-East

Muslim protesters blocked a road Thursday to protest against an incident in the night during which a group of the Bodo tribe burned a car near Rangiya, 60 km west of the main town in the State of Assam, Guwahati.

These two communities are fighting for years the ownership of land in this remote part of India.

The upsurge in violence, the Bodo and some politicians attribute to the influx of Muslims from neighboring Bangladesh, was 80 dead and over 400,000 displaced in three weeks, according to local authorities.

"At least one car and a wooden bridge was burned and the police were firing blanks to disperse the crowd who tried to block a road," said a policeman, G. Singh.

News reports have also reported reprisals against Indians from the north-east resident elsewhere in the country, often for their education or find work, and easily identifiable by their physical traits similar to those of Tibetans .

Saturday, a gathering of Muslims in Mumbai to protest against violence in Assam has been punctuated by violence that left two dead and dozens injured.