By IANS
Agartala : Nine tribal separatists Friday surrendered before authorities in Tripura after fleeing their camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.
The nine rebels belonging to the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) handed arms and ammunition before senior commanders of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
"So far about 84 militants, who were sheltered and trained in Bangladeshi camps, have surrendered before authorities in Tripura since January this year," a CRPF official said.
Both NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) separatist outfits are fighting for a sovereign Tripura for indigenous tribals.
A total of 91 Bangladeshi-trained separatists had surrendered before authorities in Tripura last year.
"Bangladeshi security forces have launched a crackdown against militants from India's northeast, forcing them to surrender before authorities here," said J.A. Khan, inspector general of the Border Security Force (BSF), at the Tripura frontier.
More than 1,100 tribal guerrillas had surrendered since 1998.
"Of the 1,100 surrendered extremists, 991 have been rehabilitated under a central government economic package," Tripura Tribal Welfare Minister Jitendra Choudhury said.