Police commando among 4 killed in Manipur clashes

The area where people from both communities stay in close proximity witnessed gun fights during the night despite a buffer zone created by security forces to prevent escalation of the situation, officials said

Imphal: Four persons, including a Manipur Police commando and a teenager, were killed in the Kangvai area of Bishnupur district in clashes between the two warring communities late on Thursday, officials said. The area where people from both communities stay in close proximity witnessed gun fights during the night despite a buffer zone created by security forces to prevent escalation of the situation, they said.

Last night, an attempt was made by mobs from the hillside to come down and burn some villages in the valley.

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These mobs had gathered from outside the area and did not yield to the request of locals to go back, they said. The security forces responded in a calibrated manner and prevented them from torching any house. However, some people from both sides indulged in firing at each other from standoff ranges from the villages of Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai which resulted in the death of three persons besides injuries on both sides.

Although the firing ceased during the early hours of Friday, mobs on the valley side continued to block the movement of security forces for reinforcing the area, they said adding senior officers have been working round the clock to restore peace in the area by engaging both communities. However, the emotions continued to run high and intermittent firing continued even during the day, the officials said, adding the police commando suffered fatal injuries late Friday evening.

The teenager was killed at Phoubakchao locality while hurrying to take cover.

Meanwhile, irate locals, mostly womenfolk, hit the streets in Moirang to vent out their anger against the firing. Officials said the firing between two groups of armed men was first reported in Awang Leikei and Kangwai in Churandpur district near Phoubakchao around 1.30 am. Additional columns have already been deployed from alternative routes to respond to the tense situation in this area. More than 120 people have lost their lives and over 3,000 injured since ethnic violence broke out in the State on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Around 40,000 central security personnel, besides the Manipur Police, have been deployed to control the violence and bring back normalcy in the State. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribal Nagas and Kukis constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.