AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
New Delhi, A surge of violence has rocked the Jiribam region of Manipur, as Kuki militants launched attacks on several Meitei villages in the Barak Circle, leaving a trail of destruction and displacement in its wake.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the clashes resulted in the torching of over 70 houses in Lamtai Khunou, Dibong Khunou, Nunkhal, and Begra villages, while two police outposts and a forest beat office were also set ablaze. The violence claimed the life of a 59-year-old Meitei farmer, Soibam Saratkumar Singh, whose body was found with sharp wounds.
The unrest has forced the evacuation of over 200 Meitei people, mostly women and children, to a relief camp, while a curfew has been imposed in the Jiribam district and the adjoining Tamenglong district. Additional security forces have been deployed in the area to contain the situation.
The violence is attributed to longstanding ethnic tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities over land ownership, political representation, and ethnic identity. The Manipur government has transferred Jiribam Superintendent of Police A. Ghanashyam Sharma in the wake of the violence.