Militant outfit Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) signed the historic peace agreement with the Government of Assam in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday evening.

The MoU was signed at the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and other senior officers of MHA and the Assam Government.

According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the DNLA will lay down its arms and abide by the Constitution. A total of 179 DNLA cadres will surrender their arms and ammunition. The central and state governments will provide Rs 500 crore each for the development of the Dimasa tribal areas.

Speaking at the occasion, Amit Shah said, “With today’s agreement being signed, all tribal militant groups have laid down their arms and have joined mainstream and become a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development journey. This is a step towards progressive Northeast that the prime minister had visualized and promised. With the signing of this treaty, all kinds of violence and terrorism from Dima Hasao district have ended.”

Meanwhile, representatives of the banned outfit also expressed their satisfaction with the signing of the agreement.

On September 2021, the DNLA had declared a unilateral ceasefire for a period of six months following an appeal by the chief minister. The ceasefire has been extended since then. The DNLA announcement in 2021 came two weeks after the insurgent group allegedly fired upon on a convoy of seven trucks in the Dima Hasao district, killing five people and injuring one. The DNLA was established in April 2019 seeking a sovereign territory for the Dimasa tribals and launched an armed insurgency to achieve its goal.