At least seven people were killed in gun violence between Meitei and Kuki groups in a remote area of Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday, an Army official told Scroll.
Four of those killed belonged to the Kuki community while the others were Meiteis.
The first death was reported after suspected Kuki rebels entered the home of 63-year-old Yurembam Kulendra Singha and shot him dead in his sleep, according to a statement by the Manipur Police.
A Meitei civilian, Singha lived alone in Nungchapi about 5 kilometres from the Jiribam district headquarters.
The other six victims were killed in a subsequent exchange of fire between Meitei and Kuki groups in Rasidpur village about 7 kilometres away from the district headquarters.
“This morning, the town of Jiribam was struck by sudden violence as clashes erupted between two communities in the Nungchapi area,” an Assam Rifles official told Scroll.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or AFSPA, gives Army personnel sweeping powers in disturbed areas to search, arrest and open fire if they deem it necessary for “the maintenance of public order.”
Saturday’s violence came a day after an elderly man was killed and six others, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured in a rocket attack by suspected Kuki rebels in Bishnupur district.
The rocket landed inside the compound of a house belonging to former Chief Minister Mairembam Koireng, in the Moirang area.
The man who died, 72-year-old RK Rabei, was from the Meitei community. He was offering prayers when shrapnel from the rocket struck him in the head, EastMojo reported.
The rocket landed around 100 metres away from the Indian National Army War Museum in Moirang, which is dedicated to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The museum was likely the target of the rocket attack, NDTV reported quoting unidentified people.
Manipur has been gripped by ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May 2023. At least 226 people have died and more than 59,000 people displaced since the beginning of the clashes, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh told the state Assembly on August 2.