NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Five people have been killed in fresh Manipur violence in the last two days even as heavy exchange of fire continued between two groups in the areas bordering the Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts of the strife-torn state for the third consecutive day.
Three people died on Thursday, including two who had been injured by splinters a day ago, police said. A defence source said that women-led groups in Meitei-dominated Bishnupur have been stopping additional security forces from reaching the areas where the two groups have engaged in an intense gunfight since the early hours of August 29.
The two who succumbed to injuries were identified as music composer L.S. Mangboi, 42, and Richard Hemkholun, 31, both residents of Churachandpur. Kuki groups said their villages have been pounded by mortar shells from the valley, leading to the deaths and injuries of several village guards. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo body, called for an emergency shutdown in Churachandpur, stating that the Khousabung, Kangvai and Sugnu areas are under attack.
Mangboi, one of the victims, had composed a song for the Kuki-Zomi people’s movement, titled I Gam hilou ham (is this not our land?”), to galvanise the tribal community after ethnic violence erupted in the State on May 3. While guarding the village on Wednesday, his head was hit by a splinter; he was being rushed to Aizawl in neighbouring State of Mizoram for medical treatment when he succumbed to his injuries, a local resident said. Earlier, fearing for their safety after the violence broke out, his family had sent their two daughters to Aizawl for their studies.
Two persons were killed and eight others were injured on Tuesday in a fresh round of violence at Khoirentak in the same area. On Wednesday, seven more people, including two Indian Reserve Battalion jawans, were injured in the gunfight between two groups. Two of these seven injured died on Thursday. One more person was also killed on Thursday.
While the hill district of Churachandpur is dominated by the Kuki-Zo community, Bishnupur in the valley is Meitei-dominated. The inter-district boundary or the “buffer zone” has seen frequent clashes between the two communities since violence erupted in the State on May 3.
(Manas Dasgupta)
