Clash erupts between Meitei and Kuki village volunteers in Manipur, confirms police

PTC News Desk: Manipur witnesses yet another outbreak of violence as clashes erupt between village volunteers of the Meitei and Kuki communities, according to state police sources. The skirmish occurred on Sunday, with security forces swiftly deployed to the area to quell the escalating tensions.

Reports indicate that armed assailants initiated the conflict by unleashing a barrage of gunfire on Koutruk village, situated on the outskirts of the Imphal Valley in Kangpokpi district. Bullets pierced through the walls of residential homes, prompting the evacuation of vulnerable groups, including children, women, and the elderly, to safer locations.

The use of locally-made mortar shells, known as “Pumpis,” intensified the gravity of the situation, as described by a senior police officer. In response to the attack, village volunteers from Koutruk retaliated, resulting in a fierce gunfight.

Koutruk has been a recurrent flashpoint for violent encounters between opposing factions since the eruption of ethnic tensions in May of the previous year. Identified as one of the most volatile areas prone to such hostilities, the village has witnessed multiple clashes, contributing to a grim toll of casualties and displacements.

Sunday’s confrontation follows closely on the heels of a militant assault in the Bishnupur district, where two soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost their lives and two others sustained injuries. The attack, described as premeditated, involved a coordinated assault on a CRPF post, with grenades followed by gunfire, signaling a resurgence of violence in the region.