New Delhi: At least 13 people have died in a fresh bout of violence in the Tengnoupal district of Manipur on Monday afternoon.
Security force officials reported that at noon, they received information about a gunfight between two militant groups at Leithu village, which is close to Saibol in Tengnoupal district.
The closest security personnel were roughly 10 kilometers away from this location. Thirteen bodies were discovered in the Leithu village when our forces arrived on the scene. One officer with knowledge of the situation stated, “The forces did not find any weapons next to the bodies.”
According to the officer, it seems that the deceased were not from the Leithu area and may have arrived from somewhere else before getting into a gunfight with another group.
Neither police nor security forces confirmed the identity of the deceased people.
“The police have arrived at the location. They’ll look into it,” the officer continued.
Since May 3, ethnic violence between the Kuki and Meitei communities has erupted throughout Manipur. There are about 50,000 homeless people and at least 182 dead from the clashes.
Only on Sunday, after seven months, were mobile internet services allowed again in the state ravaged by violence, with the exception of certain districts’ borders.
The areas in the above districts are either dominated by Meiteis or Kukis and have witnessed the majority of the violence, gunfights, arson and abductions in the past seven months.
The lifting of suspension came four days after the Centre and Manipur government signed a peace agreement in New Delhi with the United National Liberation Force (UNLF), the oldest militant outfit in the state.
