Tezpur: The hostile situation in Manipur refuses to ease as at least eight more people, six of them alleged Kuki militants, lost their lives in the strife-torn state on Thursday. An encounter broke out again between security forces and suspected Kuki militants at Thamanapokpi in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Thursday.
At around 2.40 pm on Thursday, 8 people were killed and 8 others injured in a mortar and gun attack. Local media reported that six of the dead were suspected Kuki militants. It is also learnt that four journalists are trapped in the encounter area. The other two killed in the incident are a farmer and an ordinary person. Of the total 8 injured, 2 are from the security forces.
Kuki militants opened fire and triggered explosions in Bishnupur and Kang Bhai areas during the last two days. As a result, the administration has recently deployed additional security forces in the area.
Along with this, Manipur police and central security forces are continuing the operation to rescue the weapons looted in the violence-hit Manipur. During the rescue and search operation carried out by the police in the last 24 hours, weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered. The police are continuing the operation in the adjoining and difficult hilly areas of Kangpokpi, Thoubal, Churachandpur and Imphal-West districts.
According to officials, the fresh round of firing comes after a few hours of lull since Wednesday evening. A person who sustained bomb splinter injuries on his head in Wednesday's violence died on the way to Guwahati via Mizoram, officials added. Another injured person, who also sustained splinter injuries, died around 9 am on Thursday in Churachandpur district hospital where he was undergoing treatment, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) called for an emergency shutdown in Churachandpur with immediate effect. Essential services, including water and medical supply, are exempted from the purview of the shutdown, a statement by the ITLF said. Search operations were conducted by security forces in the fringe and vulnerable areas of Kangpokpi, Thoubal, Churachandpur and Imphal-West districts and recovered 5 arms, 31 ammunition, 19 explosives, 3 packs of IED material, Manipur police wrote on X.
Police have also set up 130 nakas in different districts and detained 1,646 persons in connection with various violations. More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a "Tribal Solidarity March" was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
Also read: Fresh unrest in Manipur: Houses burnt in Imphal, policemen's guns snatched
