At least five people were killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday following a violent clash between two armed groups. According to Indian Express, the gun battle was triggered after a 63-year-old Meitei man, Y Kulachandra, was shot dead while asleep in his home. According to sources, suspected Kuki militants entered Kulachandra’s house in Ningthem Khunou, located about 5 km from the Jiribam police station, and fatally shot him around 5 am.
Kulachandra’s wife, Y Bemcha, who was preparing breakfast at the time, recounted that three armed men broke into their home and killed her husband before fleeing. Soon after the incident, a heavy exchange of gunfire broke out between the assailants and rival groups in the Nunchapi area, resulting in the deaths of three suspected Kuki militants and one Meitei fighter, Indian Express added. These groups call themselves “village defence volunteers”.
Tensions in the region remain high following the confrontation. Elsewhere, reports of gunfire and bombings surfaced from Sugnu in Kakching district, adding to the unrest.
The violence comes just a day after a rocket attack in Manipur’s Bishnupur district killed a man at the home of late former chief minister Mairenbam Koireng and destroyed two nearby structures.
The state has been reeling from a new wave of violence, including drone-dropped crude bomb attacks earlier in the week that left two people dead and several injured in Imphal West.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh condemned the attacks, calling them “acts of terrorism” and assured that the state government will respond decisively. Amidst the violence, the Manipur Education Department ordered the closure of all educational institutions as of September 7, and the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has declared an indefinite “public emergency,” urging residents to stay indoors due to ongoing assaults by Kuki militants.