NEW DELHI: Local officials said on Friday that four persons including a police commando were killed in a fresh wave of violence in India’s troubled region Manipur.
Four killed in India’s troubled Manipur region
Officials said that the police commando was killed in a clash with the local tribesmen at Moirang Turel Mapan. Officials also confirmed that three people including a teenage were killed in the clashes near the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.
More than hundreds people have been killed and more than three thousands wounded since ethnic violence took place in Manipur on May 3.
Sporadic firing continued in the area since Thursday between the two ethnic groups.
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 clashes between the two ethnic groups, fueled by demands for special status and land ownership rights, have 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.
