Imphal:
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has condemned what he called “indiscriminate firing by Kuki militants on two villages in Imphal East district” on Friday.
A policeman and another person were injured in the firing that came from the hills, the police said.
In a post on X, the chief minister asked the central forces and the state police to work with proper coordination during such a situation.
“Strongly condemn the indiscriminate firing by Kuki militants at Sanasabi and Thamnapokpi in Imphal East, which injured civilians and security personnel. This cowardly and unprovoked attack on innocent lives is an assault on peace and harmony,” Mr Singh said in a post on X.
“Adequate security personnel have been rushed to the affected areas. The injured are receiving necessary medical assistance, and the government calls for calm and unity in the face of such challenges. Central forces and state police should have proper coordination and understanding when dealing with such situations,” the chief minister said.
The two villages are near the foothills. Visuals from the area show people from the Meitei community including elderly women and children running amid the sound of automatic gunfire.
“They are firing from everywhere. Bullets are flying,” a man carrying an elderly woman on his back said in another video. “Tamo (brother), come here, don’t stand there,” he said to an old man who stood some steps away in the open.
Armed men from the hilltops started firing indiscriminately and hurling bombs at 10.45 am at Sanasabi village and adjacent areas, forcing security personnel to retaliate, a police officer told news agency PTI. “Armed men also launched attacks at Thamnapokpi village at 11.30 am, creating panic in the area.”
Security forces, including Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, rescued several women, children and elderly people who were caught in the crossfire, PTI reported.
Former Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court Siddharth Mridul on Tuesday said every time the situation in Manipur seems to be getting better, fresh violence breaks out.
“… The reason why I believe that there is somebody interested in keeping the pot boiling is that every time the situation seems to be normalising, there is a fresh injection of violence, which leads me to believe that there are forces that are external, not internal. Even if the forces are external, they do have collaborators locally who ensure that the agenda of keeping Manipur burning is pursued vigorously,” Justice Mridul said at an event in Delhi.
“I am beginning to subscribe to the idea that there does seem to be an invisible hand. Whose hand is it is not clear to me yet. There could be a number of factors at play,” he said.
There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meiteis and the Kuki tribes have killed over 250 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category.
The Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.
With inputs from PTI
