Forty-one tribal separatists along with families have surrendered to the authorities in Tripura, officials said Friday.

A police spokesman said the militants, all from the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), surrendered to officials of the Assam Rifles and the police in north Tripura Thursday.

'The militants, accompanied by their spouses and 20 children, handed over a large cache of arms and ammunition,' said Nepal Das, police spokesman.

According to an Assam Rifles statement, the militants and their family members were staying in camps at Aprang Chara and Simnapur in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area of Bangladesh.

'We have deserted our camps in Bangladesh en masse few days back as we are fed up with life in the jungles. Moreover, there is resentment because our leaders lead a luxurious life in Bangladesh while our cadres have no food, no place to stay and no shelter,' one of the surrendered rebels said.

'The two outfits, whose total strength is of about 1,200 cadres, have close links with other northeast terrorist groups, including the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the United Liberation Front of Asom,' the statement said.