Amit Shah Warns Manipur Rioters
In Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, villagers retaliated against an armed group that had been attacking their villages over the past 36 hours. This resulted into state’s worst bloodshed in which nine people died, 10 were injured, and at least five went missing. The ethnic conflict erupted on May 3.
Violence started around 10 pm
Imphal East SP K Shivakanta Singh said in the state’s capital, “Hostilities started with firing by one side around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, which sparked retaliation and more violence that continued well into the early hours of Wednesday.”
According to sources, the 25-person group that had been raiding and attacking villages in and around Khamenlok since the beginning of the week was the target of villagers’ fury.
Haobijam Somenkumar, Moirangthem Heman, Konjengbam Shankar, Telem Thoithoi, Laishram Naothoibi Devi, RK Prasanta, Yumnam Surjitkumar, and Laishram Suresh were eight of the nine people who were identified. One of the bodies were transported to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences for identification. The injured are receiving care in a private Imphal hospital.
Suspected could be Myanmar nationals
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, released a statement in which it claimed that the attackers were “suspected to be Myanmar nationals and most probably PDF (People’s Defence Force) cadres.” The statement added that the victims were dining unarmed when they were attacked and killed.
