Villagers flee racial violence in India

Thousands of villagers were reported Thursday to have fled from the riot-torn northern state of Assam, seeking refuge in government shelters to escape racial violence that has killed 29 people and injured 500 in four days. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has blamed opposition parties for fomenting the unrest between native Assamese and the minority immigrant Bengalis in the worst domestic violence in India since the Hindu-Muslim riots that followed independence from Britain in 1947. Army troops and paramilitary forces have been patrolling the riot-affected areas, which have been placed under indefinite curfew.