Hundreds of people in the Indian state of Nagaland gathered on Monday, December 6, defying the curfew, for the funeral of civilians shot dead by the Indian military in a security operation.
The families of the deceased were later joined by Nagaland Prime Minister Neiphiu Rio, who blamed the military for the deaths and ordered an investigation.
Read also India: 13 civilians killed by security forces in the northeast
Demonstrations took place across the state on Monday, the day after a march to pay tribute to the victims in the state capital, Kohima.
A police source told AFP the situation was "
tense but under control
".
Protesters and a soldier killed
Nagaland and other states in northeast India, linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor, have experienced decades of unrest among different ethnic and separatist groups.
The region is home to dozens of tribal and small rebel groups whose demands range from greater autonomy to secession from India.
On Saturday, in Oting, in the district of Mon, on the border with Burma, an elite military commando, which was waiting for insurgents in ambush, had killed six minors by mistake. According to the Indian army, the ambush had been set on "
credible intelligence
" of a group of armed insurgents moving in the region. Eight other civilians were later killed after an angry mob violently attacked the soldiers.
A soldier was also killed and a military vehicle set on fire in these incidents.
The authorities then instituted a curfew and internet shutdowns.
At least two protesters were shot dead and nearly a dozen others injured on Sunday after angry mobs attacked and partially burned down an army facility in the area.