New Delhi: Fresh violence erupted in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday (September 7), leading to the death of five people, said police.
While one person was shot dead in his sleep, among the other deceased were four armed people who were killed in subsequent exchange of fire, said the police, reported the Press Trust of India.
The incident took place when militants entered the house of the person who lived alone and shot him dead in his sleep. The location of the shootout is at an isolated area around 5 km from the district headquarters.
Following the killing of the person, a heavy exchange of fire resulted between armed men of the warring communities in the hills which led to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hill-based militants, said officials, reported PTI.
Further details are being awaited.
Hundreds of people have been killed so far in the violence that broke out between the Kuki and the Meitei ethnic communities on May 3, 2023. At least 60,000 people in the border state have since been displaced; a large section of them still living in relief camps. Many have since fled their neighbourhood and escaped to Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya.
Recently, the Audio tapes put out in the public domain by The Wire after they were submitted to the Commission of Inquiry for Manipur Violence set up by the Union home ministry appear to implicate Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and his administration directly in the year-and-half-long ethnic conflict in the border state.