Tribal violence has erupted yet again in Manipur with fresh figting neing reported from Jiribam district.
At least ten suspected Kuki militants were shot dead after a confrontation with the district’s security personnel in the most recent incident, which was reported on Monday, November 11. The incident injured a soldier from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Following this, armed groups from the two opposing sides exchanged gunfire in several locations throughout the Imphal Valley, according to authorities.
The latest violence reportedly took place in Jakuradhor Karong, which is under the jurisdiction of the Borobekra police station. People from the Hmar tribe form the majority of the population in the affected region. The Hmar tribe is a part of the Kuki-Zo ethic group which forms the majority in the nearby Pherzawal district, which is at the foothills.
According to media reports, the alleged Kuki militants started their attack at around four in the morning and targeted shops in Meitei towns such as Lamtai Khunou and Jakuradhor Karong.
According to officials, a police station and a CRPF post were attacked at approximately 3 p.m.
“Today, November 11, 2024, at about 3 pm, the CRPF post located at Jakuradhor and Borobekra police station (located nearby) were attacked by armed militants. The security forces retaliated strongly. Due to the attack, one CRPF constable namely Sanjeev Kumar sustained bullet injury and has been evacuated to Silchar Medical College, Assam and is under treatment,” Manipur Police said in a statement on social media platform X.
“After the firing ceased, the area was searched, and 10 bodies of armed militants were recovered, along with arms and ammunition… A criminal case has been registered and is being investigated,” the statement added.
Those slain on Monday were “village volunteers” who were “retaliating” to defend their land, according to a statement issued by an organization called Hmar Village Volunteers (HVVs), which represents armed Hmars participating in the incident.
“We understand that the proscribed Meitei terrorists and AT (armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol) are hiding in various parts of the Jiribam area, and are being sheltered by the local Meitei populace… The HVVs have no option but to retaliate… in self defence to protect our indigenous land and innocent people… We further reiterate that the HVVs are not in conflict with the central forces,” the statement said.
The hilly regions of Manipur would be completely closed Tuesday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the Kuki-Zo Council, “to express our collective grief and solidarity who were brutally shot dead.”
In order “to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the council called for a speedy and comprehensive investigation.
The Jiribam district administration issued indefinite prohibitory measures under BNS Section 163 in response to the violence.
Citing “apprehension of widespread disturbance to peace and tranquillity… and grave danger to human life and property because of the unlawful activities of some anti-social elements for the furtherance of their evil designs,” the section forbids gatherings of five or more people and the carrying of weapons.
The small, mixed-population district of Jiribam is situated in Manipur’s westernmost section.
Since a new wave of violence erupted in the district last week, the situation has gotten worse.
A 31-year-old lady from the community was allegedly raped and burned alive during a vicious attack on Zairawn, another Hmar-dominated town near Jiribam, last Thursday. When 80 to 100 armed attackers, purportedly from the Meitei community and radical armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol, opened fire on the locals and set up to 17 homes on fire, the level of violence in the area increased.
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One day later, a woman from the Meitei community, who live in the valley, was shot dead by suspected Kuki militants in Bishnupur district while she was working in a paddy field.
In the Imphal East and Bishnupur districts of Manipur, at least two individuals were shot in different incidents.
Rashok Horam, a 35-year-old Tangkhul man, was hurt when suspected Kuki militants attacked a group of farmers in Yaingangpokpi, according to police. The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences is where he is receiving treatment.
While laboring in a paddy field at Litanpokpi in the Bishnupur district, 38-year-old Ningombam Chaoba was shot. According to authorities, he and other farmers were shot at from the Dampi hill range, which is in the Churachandpur district.
For those who do not know, since May of last year, ethnic conflict between Meiteis from the Imphal Valley and Kuki-Zo tribes from the nearby hills has killed over 200 people and left others homeless.
