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Imphal: In the heart of the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, two people were killed and five others- including a top BJP youth leader from the state- injured amid an ongoing gunfight between two ethnic groups in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Tuesday in the latest flare-up in the ethnic conflict which has gripped the northeastern state since May 2023.
Police sources said the exchange of fire broke out at Koutruk village in Imphal West district and that the number of deaths is likely to increase. At least one person is also said to be missing.
Manoharmayum Barish Sharma, a former president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha – the youth wing of the BJP – sustained injuries in the firing and has been swiftly admitted to a hospital.
The sources said the gunfight erupted between village volunteers of two communities on the border of the Imphal West and Kangpokpi districts. There are also reports of several residents fleeing the Kadangband, Koutruk and Kangchup villages in the Imphal valley following the fresh violence.
Tuesday’s heavy clash comes just two days after a village defence volunteer was killed and four people were injured in a gunfight between two armed groups in an area between state capital Imphal and Kangpokpi district.
The region has been plagued by violence between the Kuki tribes and the Meitei people, resulting in more than 180 deaths and thousands of people being displaced since May 3. They accuse valley-based militias of attacking them, while the Meiteis argue that the Kuki rebels have violated the peace deal by using sophisticated weapons.
Thousands have also been ousted and the opposition has grilled why the violence has gone on for over eight months despite at least 60,000 personnel from the central security forces being posted in the state.
