The Chief Secretaries of Assam and Nagaland on Saturday signed an agreement to de-escalate border tension prevailing at two locations in the Dessoi valley forest/ Tsurangkong valley by simultaneously withdrawing security forces within the next 24-hours.
The agreement was signed following a meeting at Dimapur between Assam chief secretary Jishnu Barua and his Nagaland counterpart J Alam in the presence of Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton and Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu.
Both sides agreed that to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas around Ao Senden village and Vikuto village as they are known in Nagaland and called as Jankhona Nala / Nagajankha and Compartment No. 12, respectively, in Assam, urgent and effective steps are required for defusing the standoff between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.
“In this regard, it is decided that the security personnel of both states shall simultaneously move back from their present locations to their respective base camps. The simultaneous withdrawal of the security personnel shall begin immediately and shall be completed in the next 24 hours as far as possible,” according to the agreement.
Nagaland and Assam shall monitor the area by surveillance using UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and satellite imagery with a view to maintaining the status quo.
