2 Separatist Protesters Killed In Northeast India

CALCUTTA, India (AP) - Police say two supporters of a Gorkha separatist party were killed and four were injured after attacking a group of officers during a protest march in the northeast Indian state of West Bengal.

The state's Inspector General Surajit Kar Purkayastha says police "had to open fire for self-defense" after nine officers were injured.

Darjeeling police superintendent Devendra Prasad Singh says the officers were attacked Tuesday after charging with sticks at about 500 supporters of the Gorkha party, who had defied a ban to gather for a political march in Jalpaiguri district.

The area's ethnic Nepalese, known as Gorkhas, have been agitating since the 1980s for a separate Gorkhaland state. The Gorkha Janmukti Mukti Morcha political party was established in 2007.