A damaged house in a violence-hit area of Manipur. (Image: PTI)
Manipur CM N Biren Singh initially said 40 Kuki militants had been eliminated in counterinsurgency operations but revised the number to 33 when pressed by the media
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Sunday declared militants from the Kuki tribe responsible for the recent attacks on unarmed civilians in the state and called them “terrorists”. He initially said 40 such militants had been eliminated in counterinsurgency operations but revised the number to 33 when pressed by the media.
According to sources quoted by NDTVsecurity forces have been battling armed groups for more than eight hours in several areas of the state hit by ethnic violence. The chief minister said the operations were being conducted in Litanpokpi, Serou, Sugnu, Yaingangpokpi and Trobung, with the help of the Indian Army’s Jat Regiment.
“A significant number of Kuki militants in combat attire were eliminated, besides the Jat Regiment also apprehended several individuals linked to the group,” Singh said, adding, “Kuki militants are terrorists.”
Singh said the Kuki militants were using heavy weaponry such as two-inch mortars and helicopter surveillance.
Addressing the media at his secretariat in Imphal, the CM strongly condemned the use of sophisticated weapons, including M16 rifles, AK-47s and snipers to target unarmed civilians. Describing their actions as “acts of terrorism”, he emphasised the government’s commitment to neutralising this threat.
Clashes broke out after the army commenced combing operations to de-arm communities in order to bring peace. Singh claimed that these clashes were not between rival communities but between Kuki militants and security forces.
The house of BJP MLA Khwairakpam Raghumani Singh at Uripok in Imphal West was vandalised and his two vehicles have been set on fire, a top security official told PTI. The official also said the clashes broke out in the early morning hours at several places in different districts surrounding the Imphal Valley.
“According to our information, firing has been reported from Sugnu in Kakching, Kangvi in Churachandpur, Kangchup in Imphal West, Sagolmang in Imphal East, Nungoipokpi in Bishenpur, Khurkhul in Imphal West and YKPI in Kangpokpi,” the official said.
The official further said new roadblocks had sprung up at areas, which were being manned by women and there was an unconfirmed report of arms being looted from Kakching police station by a Meitei group.
Ethnic clashes, which have claimed over 75 lives, first broke out in the state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki residents from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.
Around 140 columns of the army and Assam Rifles, comprising over 10,000 personnel, besides those from other paramilitary forces had to be deployed to bring back normalcy in the northeastern state. Meiteis account for about 53 percent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribal Nagas and Kukis form another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
(With PTI inputs)