According to Manipur Police, ten armed Kuki “militants” were killed in “retaliatory firing” after attacking security officers in Jiribam on Monday afternoon, escalating tension in the state.
The men, armed with sophisticated weapons, including automatic guns and an rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post at about 3 pm in the Borobekra-Jiribam area and were killed in “retaliatory firing”, the police said. The area is dominated by the Hmar tribal group.
A criminal case has been registered and the incident is being investigated, police said in the statement.
“After 40–45 minutes of heavy exchange of fire, the situation was brought under control.
After the firing ceased, the area was searched and ten dead bodies of armed militants were recovered along with arms and ammunition,” the statement said.
The weapons recovered by the police included three AK-47s, four self-loading rifles (SLRs), two Indian Small Arms Systems (INSAS), one rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), and one Pump Action Gun, along with bullet proof jackets, helmets, and magazines, the police said.
Speaking to ThePrint, Thangtinlen Haokip, information secretary of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), said that these were not militants but “village defence volunteers”.
“These are not militants, but our village defence volunteers, who have been on the ground since the violence began, to protect their community. It is wrong to call them militants,” he said. “We are trying to get in touch with their families and chart out the next course of action. What has happened is extremely unfortunate.”
The Hmar Students’ Association condemned the incident as a “premeditated massacre of Hmar Village Volunteers” and accused the CRPF of involvement.
“Videos circulating on social media, showing the merciless dragging of the dead bodies, confirm the involvement of the CRPF. All village volunteers in Kuki-Zo areas are now on high alert, prepared to defend their people against further aggression,” read their statement.
In a press statement Khaikhohauh Gangte, the Kuki-Zo Council’s secretary of information, said that the organization has announced a “total shutdown”, from 5 am-6 pm Tuesday “in honour of the victims and to express our collective grief and solidarity who were brutally shot dead”.
According to residents, 80 to 100 armed assailants, allegedly from the Meitei community and radical armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol, opened fire at the villagers and set as many as 17 homes ablaze, escalating violence in the region.
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Source: The Print
