‘Till peace is restored’: Kuki group blocks crucial Manipur highway after fresh violence

Earlier, following an appeal by home minister Amit Shah to remove the blockade on NH2 to ensure smooth supply to essentials to Manipur.

A section of the National Highway-2 (NH2) was once again blocked by a Kuki organisation following fresh violence that claimed three lives in ethnic clashes-hit Manipur, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.

A section of the National Highway-2 (NH2) was once again blocked by a Kuki organisation following fresh violence in Manipur (ANI)

The development came days after the blockade on a section of NH2, which connects Manipur’s Imphal and Dimapur in Nagaland, was temporarily suspended on the appeal of Union home minister Amit Shah for smooth supply of essentials to the violence-hit state.

At least 105 people have been killed, over 300 injured and nearly 40,000 displaced in Manipur since May 3, when ethnic violence erupted in the northeastern state between numerically dominant Meitei community — which forms 53% of the state population — and tribal communities, especially Kukis, who form around 16% of the state population and live primarily in the hill districts.

The Sadar Hills unit of Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) has again put blockade the 13-km stretch of NH2 in Kangpokpi district following incidents of fresh violence that killed three people, including an elderly woman, left two injured late on Friday night.

Though there was no official confirmation on the identity of the perpetrator of the fresh violence, the tribal organisation has claimed that some gunmen dressed in military uniform attacked Khoken, a Kuki-dominated village on the boundary connecting Kangpokpi and Imphal West districts in the wee hours of Friday.

“The decision to reimpose the economic blockade was taken following the tragic events at Khoken village. This will continue indefinitely till there peace is restored,” COTU spokesperson Rev K Sitlhou told HT.

Earlier, following an appeal by home minister Amit Shah to remove the blockade on NH2 to ensure smooth supply to essentials to Manipur, COTU on June 4 decided to temporarily suspend the blockade for seven days beginning June 5 as a “goodwill gesture”. The highway was blocked on May 3.

On June 4, the Kuki group had released a statement, saying that only essential commodities and medical supplies would be allowed to ply on the highway with the escort of central forces between 10 am and 2 pm.

“If attacks are carried out on Kuki villages by armed Meiteis during the suspension, the committee will be compelled to look into the matter,” the statement read.