At least five killed as ethnic violence flares in India’s Manipur
At least five killed as ethnic violence flares in India’s Manipur
At least five people, including one civilian, have been killed as violence flared between two warring ethnic communities in the restive northeastern Indian state of Manipur, according to authorities.
Manipur has been rocked by periodic violence for more than a year between the predominantly Hindu-majority Meitei and the mainly Christian Kukis over economic benefits, and government jobs and education quotas.
A court had ordered the state government to share the benefits enjoyed by the Kukis to the Meitis, fuelling the tension.
A new round of clashes and exchange of gunfire took place on Saturday in the district of Jiribam, located on India’s border with Myanmar.
“Fighting has been going on between armed groups of both the communities since the morning,” said Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of Jiribam.
One person, a civilian, was shot dead while sleeping and another four “armed persons” were killed in a “subsequent exchange of fire”, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
