Strife-torn Assam burns

Thousands of people have fled their homes in Assam after fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers left over some 500 villages in flames and many dead. Rioting between Bodo tribes people and Muslim settlers has raged for days. Some of the victims died of machete wounds, aid workers who had seen the bodies said. The latest wave of violence was sparked when unidentified men killed four youths in the state's Bodo tribe-dominated Kokrajhar district near the borders of Bangladesh and Bhutan. Ringed by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, India's northeast is home to more than 200 ethnic and tribal groups and has been racked by separatist revolts since India's independence. Here are a few heart wrenching photos from the riots that have forced thousand to leave their homes: