Two people were killed and 10 injured in the latest attack. The conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities broke out more than a year ago and has still not found a solution. Tensions have been rising for weeks and, according to experts, the presence of fighters from neighbouring Myanmar risks further complicating the situation.
Imphal (/Agencies) – At least two people were killed and 10 wounded in an armed attack yesterday in the Indian state of Manipur, which has been shaken by inter-ethnic violence for over a year. It is the first time, however, that rebels have used drones to launch explosives against security forces. “An unprecedented attack” and a “significant escalation” of violence, said local police.
Clashes between the predominantly Christian Kuki people, also known as Zo, who live in the hilly areas, and the Hindu-majority Meitei, who control the government and police apparatus, erupted in May last year over tensions over land sharing and access to public works, of which India reserves a quota for indigenous people. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh (of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the same party in power at the national level) told the state assembly last month that at least 226 people had been killed and nearly 60,000 displaced since the conflict began.
The drone attack took place on Sunday, September 1 at around 2pm on the border between the predominantly Meitei village of Koutruk in Imphal West district and the predominantly Kuki village of Kangkopki. Of the two people killed, only a 31-year-old woman, Ngangbam Surbana Devi, could be identified, whose daughter was also injured.
Manipur police believe the attack was carried out by Kuki ethnic fighters and do not rule out the involvement of “highly qualified professionals, probably with technical knowledge and support”. Director General of Police Rajiv Singh imposed a “high alert”, especially in “peripheral areas”, and the Ministry of Home Affairs of the northeastern state defined the attack as an “act of terror against the unarmed inhabitants of the village” and “an attempt to hamper the efforts being made by the state government to restore peace”. Some Meitei organisations spoke of a “serious war crime” and called for immediate action by the state government.
The escalation of tensions began on August 7, when the Kuki Students’ Organisation released excerpts of an audio recording held by the National Commission of Inquiry into the violence in Manipur constituted by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, the website reported. The Wire. In the recording, a voice – presumably belonging to Prime Minister Singh – is heard admitting that he had fuelled the violence, rather than quelling it. The Manipur government (which itself claims the recording was “doctored”) is said to have allowed the use of bombs against tribal villages and deliberately ignored thefts of weapons from local police stations.
On August 31, the day before the drone strike, some members of the Kuki community held demonstrations across Manipur demanding their own state, a goal that the Meiteis consider unacceptable but which some rebel groups have embraced, even at the cost of violence.
The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been accused by many sides of ignoring the conflict and not doing enough to stop the spiral of violence. Talks between the sides have yielded no results and many villagers, both Meitei and Kuki, have said they felt forced to take up arms over the past year to defend themselves.
According to analyst Praveen Donthi of the International Crisis Group, groups of outlawed ethnic Meitei fighters have re-entered Manipur from neighbouring Myanmar (where civil conflict has been raging for more than three years), with locals accusing them of extorting money. “Myanmar-based Meitei rebel groups, which were at their weakest before May last year, have seen a resurgence, probably beyond their expectations, due to the ongoing conflict in Manipur,” The specialist commented. “Insurgent groups and separatist tendencies are growing stronger every day,” with the risk of turning the clashes into a regional conflict.
Add Comment