Five killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam

Imphal/Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) Five people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday morning, police said.

One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.

Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone in an isolated location around 5 km from the district headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, he said.

After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire broke out between armed men of the warring communities in the hills around 7 km from the district headquarters, leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier this week, fresh arson broke out in the district after suspected “village volunteers” burnt down an abandoned three-room house of a retired police officer at Jakuradhor in Borobekra police station said.

Tribal body Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee (Pherzawl and Jiribam) denied any involvement in the incident.

The district witnessed fresh violence despite representatives of the Meitei and Hmar communities reaching an agreement to restore normalcy and “prevent incidents of arson and firing” in a meeting held at a CRPF facility in adjoining Assam’s Cachar on August 1.

In the meeting moderated by the Jiribam district administration, Assam Rifles and CRPF personnel, and representatives of Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite and Mizo communities of Jiribam district were also present.

The agreement was, however, denounced by several Hmar tribal bodies based outside Jiribam district saying they did not have any knowledge about it.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June this year. Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. A CRPF jawan was also killed in an ambush by militants during patrolling by security forces in mid-July.