Manipur violence: Armed men fire at villages; women prevent movement of additional columns

IMPHAL— A group of armed men, who sneaked from Yaingangpokpi (YKPI) in Manipur’s Imphal East district and moved towards the hills on Friday afternoon, fired from automatic weapons towards Urangpat and Gwaltabi villages, officials said.

Security forces columns, which were immediately deployed in these “vacant” villages, responded cautiously to avoid any collateral damage.

However, a large group of women in YKPI and Seijang areas were preventing the movement of additional columns into the area, officials added.

This comes a day after two soldiers were injured when unknown gunmen fired at them at North Boljang in Imphal West district around 5am on Thursday.

During initial search operations by the security forces, one INSAS light machine gun and one INSAS rifle were recovered.

Shots of automatic small arms were also heard near Urangpat, north of YKPI, around 5.45 pm on Wednesday.

More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state so far.

Clashes first broke out on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.