According to sources, at least ten suspected Kuki militants were shot dead during a clash with security personnel in the Jiribam region of Manipur today. According to sources, the suspected Kuki insurgents attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier in the Assam-bordering district, injuring him. The soldier was transported to Assam’s Silchar Medical College.
According to sources, the bodies of two elderly people were also discovered inside a Jiribam home that had been set on fire by alleged terrorists.
According to sources, the confrontation started when suspected Kuki militants attacked a Jiribam police station in large numbers from two directions. Adjacent to the police station is an internally displaced people’s relief camp. The attackers may have looked to target the camp too, sources said.
A police officer from Jiribam informed news agency over the phone that the attackers most likely arrived in autorickshaws. In recent months, this police station in Borobekra, Jiribam, had been the victim of multiple attacks.
Following their attack on the police station, the suspected Kuki rebels moved 400 meters from the police station to a small community in Jakurador Karong, where they started burning houses and engaged in a battle with security troops. According to sources, the CRPF has dispatched troops to Jiribam.
The murders of what they referred to as “village volunteers” have prompted Kuki civil society organisations to declare a shutdown in their dominated areas. Following the gunfight, the security forces retrieved assault rifles from the AK series and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).
Notwithstanding hundreds of smuggled images to the contrary, both sides insist that their “village volunteers” carry single-barrelled, licensed firearms. Since a new round of violence erupted in Jiribam last week, tensions have been high.
Last Thursday, alleged Meitei insurgents burned houses in Jiribam and killed a woman from the Hmar tribe. In a police investigation, her husband claimed she had been raped before to her death.
One day later, a woman from the Meitei people, who live in the valley, was shot dead in a paddy field by suspected Kuki insurgents.
A farmer was hurt this morning when suspected Kuki terrorists opened fire from the Imphal East District hills. The attacks during the paddy harvest season have raised concerns as farmers are getting reluctant to go to their fields, officials said.
The largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in the nation is the CRPF. With significant victories in anti-Maoist operations in Jharkhand and other states, it has developed into an effective fighting force. Particularly in West Bengal and the Kaimur and Rohtas areas of Bihar, it significantly aided in the eradication of Naxalism.
Manish Kumar Sachar, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the CRPF, stated in September that families in Manipur’s relief camps would like to go back home as long as their safety was guaranteed.
When the Centre decided to relocate two battalions of the Assam Rifles from Manipur to Jammu and Kashmir, the Kuki tribes objected.
