Just over two days after ethnic communities signed a deal to bring back normalcy in the district, shots were fired and an abandoned house was torched in Manipur’s Jiribam, triggering fresh tensions in the region, officials said on Saturday.
The BJP overlooked the signing of a peace agreement between Meitei and Hmar, part of the Kuki ethnic group, on August 1 (Thursday).
“It is an isolated settlement consisting of few Meitei houses, and most of those were abandoned after violence broke out in the district. Miscreants, who are yet to be identified, took advantage of security lapses in the area to commit the arson,” an official said.
The armed men also fired several rounds of shells and gunshots, targetting the village, he said.
Security forces were rushed to the area following the incident, he added.
Thursday’s
meeting was delegated by the district commissioner and senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Assam Rifles (AR). Kuki and Hmar also agreed to work together with security forces in Jiribam and to manage and coordinate the movement of people in a controlled manner.
The district of Jiribram, which is 250 km away from the capital Imphal, was largely free from violence since last year until it was not.
In June this year, the district saw its first bout of violence, forcing hundreds out of their homes with many taking refuge in relief camps.
Last month, the Manipur police said that a CRPF personnel was killed in an ambush by “suspected Kuki insurgents.”
With inputs from PTI
Link to article –
