5 more die as clashes continue in Manipur

Five people were killed in Manipur on Saturday as the region convulsed with fresh waves of violence, according to officials who said that gunfights and cases of arson continued till late in the night.

- Prawesh Lama

 

Three men of the Meitei community were shot dead inside their homes in Manipur’s Kwakta area and the unidentified attackers mutilated the bodies before fleeing. Hours later, two men from the tribal Kuki community were killed in Churachandpur district, although it was not immediately clear if these deaths were connected to the early morning incident.

The deaths come in a tumultuous week for a state that has been gripped by ethnic violence since May 3, with over 160 people confirmed dead. Late on Thursday, a Manipur rifles soldier was killed while an armoury in Bishnupur looted of hundreds of guns and rifles and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo.

The spurt traces back to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum’s announcement for a mass burial of 35 victims of the ethnic violence on Thursday, before it was hurriedly called off following hectic parleys by authorities and a court order.

Meiteis opposed the burial plan, and several groups began converging at the proposed burial site, triggering widespread clashes since Thursday.

In what further underscored the complicated nature of the crisis, a video emerged on Saturday showing an argument between Assam Rifles soldiers and Manipur police, with the latter accusing the Indian Army-controlled soldiers of not allowing them to do their job.