After several months, there was a resurgence of violence in Manipur’s inter-district boundary areas, resulting in the deaths of two and the injuries of 10 persons, including two police officers and a television reporter, in the Koutruk area of Imphal West due to gunfire and explosions.
“In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, alleged Kuki militants have deployed numerous RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) using high-tech drones,” said an official statement by the Manipur police. A senior police officer estimated that seven such “explosives” had been used to target the village.
“While drone bombs have commonly been used in general warfares, this recent deployment of drones to deploy explosives against security forces and civilians marks a significant escalation. The involvement of highly trained professionals, possibly with technical expertise and support, cannot be ruled out,” said an official statement by the Manipur police.
Nganbam Surbala, 35, was one of the dead, according to officials. She had been shot in the head. Her daughter, 11, also sustained injuries from a bullet wound to her right arm.
A senior police official stated that the firing on Sunday began around 2:00 pm and went on until approximately 7:30 pm, while tensions persisted into the evening. Locals from Koutruk said that majority of the inhabitants were moved to safer areas after houses in the village were set on fire.
Koutruk is a Meitei village in Imphal West district, on the border of Kangpokpi district, which is populated mostly by Kuki-Zomi. With reports of frequent gunshot events, it has been among the most severely hit locations in the continuing conflict.
On Sunday evening, Manipur Director General of Police Rajiv Singh issued directions to the Superintendents of Police of all districts to “remain on maximum alert” and ensure vigilance along all “fringe areas”. The DGP directed that there be “proper coordination” between different security forces and that joint combing operations be conducted.
In a statement, the Manipur government’s Home Department referred to the violence on Sunday as a “act of terrorising unarmed villagers.”
“Such act of creating havoc among the unarmed villagers, reportedly by Kuki militants, is seen as an attempt to derail the efforts taken by the state government to establish peace. And such acts are condemned very strongly. The state government has already taken up immediate action to control the situation and to punish those who were involved in today’s attack on Koutruk village,” it stated.
The conflict’s boundaries with the Meitei and Kuki Zomi majority districts, which have been hotbeds of violence and gunfire since last May, have seen a few months of relative calm until the flare-up.
Although there had been an increase in violence in the Jiribam district near the state’s border with Assam, there had only been one significant violent event in these so-called “fringe areas” since April 27. That day, two CRPF personnel were killed and two injured in Manipur’s Bishnupur district following a blast at the paramilitary force’s outpost.
Sunday’s violence comes a day after rallies organised by the Kuki-Zo communities in protest against the present Manipur government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
