GUWAHATI: In a fresh round of violence in strife-torn Manipur, a youth was killed in a gunfight between Kuki and Meitei armed village defence volunteers at Kangpokpi district on Saturday morning, police said.
The incident comes after a gap of 26 days when 13 people were killed in a gunfight on December 4 in Tengnoupal district. The ethnic conflict between the two communities, which started in May, has claimed 197 lives to date.
“Around 3.30am, a heavy exchange of fire took place between village volunteers of both Kuki and Meitei community in between the hill ranges of Nakhujang and Singda Kuki villages under Kangchup police station. The exchange of fire lasted till around 4.20am,” said a police official on condition of anonymity.
Police stated that in the exchange of fire, one Meitei youth, later identified as Ningombam James, aged 32, of Imphal West district, sustained bullet injuries. He was shifted to Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation active in Kangpokpi, claimed the gunfight started over protection of forestland after Meitei youths allegedly cut firewood in a forest located close to a Kuki village.
{{/usCountry}}The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), a Kuki organisation active in Kangpokpi, claimed the gunfight started over protection of forestland after Meitei youths allegedly cut firewood in a forest located close to a Kuki village.
{{/usCountry}}“When Kuki village volunteers went for patrolling in the area this morning, they were fired upon by armed youths from Imphal Valley who had trespassed the buffer zones (between Meitei-dominated and Kuki-dominated areas). The exchange of fire took place for nearly an hour,” said a COTU office bearer.
On the other hand, UNI, quoting villagers in Kadangband in Imphal West, reported that Meitei youths who were guarding the village were fired upon from nearby hill areas by “Kuki militants”.
Villagers in Imphal West came out in protest against the killing and alleged that security personnel posted in hill areas (where Kukis are in majority) were not acting against those moving around with sophisticated weapons.