NEW DELHI: Eyewitnesses, local people and western media reported on Wednesday that ethnic clashes took place between different groups at Leikinthabi in the jurisdiction of Sekmai Police Station in Imphal, Manipur.
Ethnic Clashes Continue in India’s Troubled Manipur
A group of people exchanged heavy gunfire with men of Kuki tribes at 4.15 am in the region. Both sides blamed each other for heavy exchange of fire in the area.
The gunfight reportedly took place for more than four hours, Western and local media reported. Reports said that several people were wounded in the fight between the two sides. Local media reports said that the irate IRB and Police forces opened fire against the ethnic group in the region.
The remote northeastern Indian state of Manipur is on the brink of civil war as armed mobs wreak havoc in villages, igniting ethnic tensions and pushing the region into a deadly conflict, Western media reported. The simmering tensions between the ethnic groups have escalated into a bloodletting that has left thousands displaced and dozens dead, with no end in sight.
The clash between the two ethnic groups, fueled by demands for special status and land ownership rights, has led to the formation of armed militias. These armed factions, representing different ethnic groups, have intensified the violence and deepened the divides that have long plagued the region.
Manipur, nestled in the mountains on the border with Myanmar, has a history of ethnic clashes, but the recent outbreak of killings, arson, and hate-fueled rampages has shocked India. Angry mobs and armed gangs have targeted villages and towns, leaving a trail of destruction and causing mass displacement. Witnesses report horrible acts of violence, including beheadings, bludgeoning, and the burning of victims.
The ethnic conflict, largely hidden from the rest of India due to a government-imposed internet ban, has pushed the region into an unseen war reminiscent of a civil war, as armed civilians fight against each other along ethnic lines.
