New Delhi . At least five people have died in the recent wave of violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district. The incident comes a day after militants in Manipur fired rockets at two places in Bishnupur, killing an elderly man and injuring five others. A security force official posted in Manipur said the casualty count could rise further. “In the morning, militants entered a village and killed a man, following which firing began. The killing is part of ethnic conflict. The firing is still going on. We have received reports that the deceased belong to both Kuki and Meitei communities,” the security force official said.
Ethnic conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities has been going on in Manipur for the past one and a half years. But the situation has seen a serious escalation in recent days, especially in the last five days when a fresh wave of violence has emerged. Hours after the murder of an elderly man in Bishnupur, a mob in Imphal attempted to loot arms from the headquarters of 2 Manipur Rifles and 7 Manipur Rifles. However, security forces foiled their attempts.
The attack on Friday is reported to be the first known case of use of rockets in Manipur. The attack came six days after drones were used as weapons. Manipur police said the Kuki militants used long-range rockets. Officials said the rockets were about four feet long. The explosives were stuffed into galvanised iron (GI) pipes, fitted into a country-made rocket launcher and fired simultaneously. To make the projectiles travel a longer distance, the militants have to vary the amount of explosives. It seems they were practising this during the months of peace.
Seeing the increasing violence, the Manipur administration has issued an order to keep all educational institutions across the state closed on Saturday. During the conflict between Kuki and Meitei in Manipur, militants have started using new technologies such as drones and rockets. This has made the situation of violence even more serious, while the use of rifles and grenades also continues.
Security forces destroyed three bunkers of militants, people in panic
The Manipur government announced closure of schools on Saturday in view of the unrest caused by bomb attacks in Bishnupur district.
The rocket that fell on the compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng’s residence appeared to be an improvised rocket. “The elderly man was preparing for some religious rituals on the compound when the bomb exploded. He died on the spot,” a security force official said.
Meanwhile, the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity, a group of valley-based civil bodies, has declared a public emergency in five districts of the Imphal valley with immediate effect. Thousands of people in the five districts of the Imphal valley formed human chains to protest against attacks by militants.
Let us tell you that after seeing several drones in the areas of Bishnupur and Imphal East district of Manipur, people switched off the lights of their houses. Officials gave this information. Earlier this week, drones were used to drop bombs on people at two places in Imphal West district. Officials said that several drones were seen in Narayansena, Nambol Kamong in Bishnupur district and Pukhao, Dolaithabi, Shantipur in Imphal East district, which caused panic among the people. Panicked villagers switched off the lights of the houses.
Meanwhile, five people were killed in violence in Jiribam district on Saturday morning. Police officials said that one person was shot dead while he was sleeping, while four armed men were killed in the firing that followed. The militants entered the house of a man living alone in a secluded place about five kilometers from the district headquarters and shot him dead. The officer said that after the murder, there was heavy firing between the armed men of the warring communities in the hills, about seven kilometers from the district headquarters, in which four armed men, including three hill militants, were killed.