The state police said that ‘additional state and central forces have been rushed in’ to control the possibility of any further escalation.
New Delhi: Ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit, communal violence has once again rocked Manipur, with gunmen allegedly belonging to Meitei groupArambai Tenggol shooting down at least two Kuki-Zo defence volunteers in Phailengmola, abutting Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts.
Shah’s visit in Manipur comes after almost 10 months after the conflict gripped the north-eastern state. The latest flare-up raises questions about the stability and security of the region, even as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a recent speech claimed to have contained the conflict through the Centre’s timely intervention – a claim that a large section of civil society in Manipur dismissed as far from the truth.
Meanwhile, the state police said that “additional state and central forces have been rushed in” to control the possibility of any further escalation. Manipur will go to polls in two phases – April 19 and 26 – for its two Lok Sabha seats Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur.
Reports state that the latest conflict began in Kamu Saichang village in Kangpokpi which is in close proximity to Meitei-dominated villages in Moirangpur in Imphal East. Meiteis mostly populate the valley, while tribal groups like the Kuki-Zo inhabit the adjoining hills.
“The area where the gunfight happened is the border between Kuki and Meitei villages of the two districts. It happened in the jungle area of the abandoned village on both sides. Security forces rushed to the hills where the gunfight happened. Currently, the situation is under control,” official sources told Hindustan Times.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.