The Assam government said yesterday that it would raise a "people's army" by providing villagers with weapons to combat separatist insurgency in the region.

"We will soon be imparting arms training to villagers and equip them with weapons for combating militancy," Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists.

The decision to equip villagers with weapons was spurred by an unprecedented incident Saturday where locals in western Assam lynched five militants using machetes and spears.

Three civilians were killed in the incident when the rebels lobbed grenades at villagers who chased the militants before lynching all of them.

The government has decided to offer cash rewards to the villagers who killed the militants.

"It is a very heartening sign to hear

reports of villagers taking on armed rebels and hence our decision to use their services in fighting militancy along side our security forces," Gogoi said.

"In the past, we found villagers turning a blind eye and covertly supporting the militants. Things are changing and people are now fed up with violence and killings."

The proposed arms training will be given to volunteers of the Village Defence Party (VDP), a community policing organisation comprising locals in the villages of Assam.

The VDP, however, has remained defunct over the years with the government rejecting demands from locals to equip them with weapons.

"We will revitalise the VDP and use its services for effective results. Even now we have VDP volunteers who have been helping the police by providing intelligence support and other information," Gogoi said.