Thousands flee to Assam as fresh violence erupts in Manipur
Imphal: Thousands have fled to Assam as fresh violence erupted in Manipur.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a school building at T Motha near Moreh, a border town of Manipur, was set ablaze by unknown assailants, while abandoned houses and shops were set on fire in Kalinagar, Jiribam district, as the northeastern state witnessed fresh violence since June 6.
According to Kashmir Media Service, soon after the Lok Sabha election results came out, Manipur, which is already tense, witnessed another surge of violence in its Jiribam District and now Moreh, when reports of houses being burnt came forward.
On 6th June, videos of a church and some houses in the town of Jiribam were shared on social media. A mixture of Hmar, Mizo, Kuki and a few Meitei population, the district had surprisingly not seen any intense violence on May 3 last year or thereafter.
The violence started on 6th June, two days after the main opposition Indian National Congress party won both the Inner and Outer Manipur seats, beating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Manipur, the dead body of 59-year-old Soibam Saratkumar Singh, a Meitei, was found by the locals after he had been missing for more than a week.
The Meiteis alleged that Kuki-Zo tribals were behind the murder. Kuki-Zo leaders have denied their involvement, blaming the killing on rival Meitei armed groups instead.
Speaking to Maktoob, local resident of Jiribam, John Houpu (name changed due to safety concerns), who has now left his home at Jiribam town and is now staying in his village located 6 kilometres from the place of violence said that they have been hearing rumours about “Meitei militants being involved in the killing.”
“The situation is very tense right now and the town is a ghost town. There is no one left and the place is being guarded by Assam Rifles,” he said.
