Ethnic Violence In Northeast India Kills Five People

Police stand guard in Manipur State, northeast India after ethnic violence that claimed five lives on Saturday (7/9/2024). (ANTARA/Anadolu/PY)

JAKARTA - Five people, including a civilian, were killed in a new act of violence in northeastern India's Manipur State, local officials said on Saturday (7/9).

Police said a civilian was shot dead while sleeping, while four gunmen were killed in a gun battle that broke out between two warring communities in the Jiribam district.

In a separate incident on Friday (6/9) night, police reported that militant members from the Kuki community launched long-range rockets from residential areas in two locations in the Bishnupur district.

In the district, an elderly resident was killed in the attack and six other civilians were injured.

Police teams and additional security forces, said the police, were immediately deployed to carry out sweeping operations in the hills adjacent to the area.

"Two bunkers in Mualsang Village and a bunker in Laika Mualsau Village in Churachandpur have been destroyed," said the police in X.

"The authorities continue to closely monitor the situation, and the police are ready to respond to everything that may arise," the law enforcement agency said.

The violence came after ethnic clashes emerged in Manipur last year that killed at least 180 people and affected thousands more.

Clashes often occur between members of the two majority ethnic groups in the state, Meiteidan Kuki.