Indian security forces killed at least 16 Maoist rebels in a gunfight on Saturday, police said."We have so far recovered 16 bodies from the Maoists," police chief P. Sundarraj told the AFP news agency, adding that the toll may rise further.Two security personnel sustained minor injuries during the operation, an official told the Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times.
Security forces on Friday night launched a raid in the dense forests of Sukma district and found several guns.Sundarraj said the operation was ongoing and that government forces had recovered a cache of arms, including rocket and grenade launches, assault weapons and other rifles.
Crackdown on insurgency intensified under Modi
Saturday's encounter between the Maoist rebels and security forces in the central state of Chhattisgarh came as Indian authorities ramp up actions to put an end to the long-running insurgency.More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decadeslong "Naxalite" rebellion.
Rebel forces say they are fighting for the rights of poor Indian farmers and landless laborers in India's resource-rich central regions.
The skirmishes between security forces and Maoists have increased since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power for a third term last year. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed to eliminate the insurgency.
"Another strike on Naxalism! Our security agencies have neutralised 16 Naxalites and recovered a massive cache of automatic weapons in an operation in Sukma. Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, we are resolved to eradicate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026,” Shah wrote on X.
