For a second time, Thangjam Basant, 34, had to flee his village, Koutruk, in Manipur’s Imphal West district bordering the Kuki tribes-dominated Kangpokpi district.
“I was attending to my younger brother, who was injured by bomb shrapnel. When I returned home, it was all burnt down,” Mr Basant, who is from the valley-dominant Meitei community, told NDTV, and broke down.
In a fresh flare-up of violence yesterday at the inter-district boundary, two people were killed and 10 including a minor, policemen and a reporter were injured in firing and bomb attacks by drones launched by “suspected Kuki insurgents”. The attack on Koutruk came after relative calm for several months.
When NDTV went to Koutruk on Monday, it became clear that many people who fled from their homes when ethnic clashes broke out in May 2023 and had returned recently, had to again run for their lives. This has raised questions about the security of villages in the foothills.
One of the people who was killed on Sunday was a woman who was visiting her mother’s house. Her 12-year-old daughter was hit in the hand.
“I went to my house in the morning and found the mat they used. It had blood stains and patches of her hair. My sister-in-law had visited us after a long time,” said Thokchom Anu, the sister-in-law of Ngangbam Surbala, 31, who was shot in the head by suspected Kuki insurgents, told NDTV on Monday.
Top intelligence sources had told NDTV on Sunday that snipers and drones were used in the attack yesterday.
Bashant, Anu and many others who have fled from Koutruk have taken shelter at a primary school a few kilometres away. Some 150 people from the village are at the school. They had also left their homes in May 2023, and then returned when the situation seemed to have improved. They were just settling down when they were forced to flee again.
By Monday morning, security forces swarmed Koutruk. Many houses and vehicles were still smouldering after they were set on fire the previous night, allegedly by the Kuki insurgents. The area seemed like it was hit by an airstrike.
Residents of the village have questioned the role of the central forces who are guarding areas in the foothills such as Koutruk, which is right across the hills where the Kuki tribes are settled.
“The drones suddenly came and dropped the bombs. This was new for us. We were not prepared for it. When the firing began, CRPF came in their vehicles, while the Assam Rifles is up there in the hills. They should have controlled this situation,” Koutruk resident Romen Laishanghthem told NDTV.
The area was volatile on Monday too. Intermittent firing and explosions could be heard at a distance.
On Saturday, the Kuki tribes had held rallies to press for their demand of a separate administration. The tribes have been alleging Meitei armed groups have been carrying out attacks against them.
“The violence in Manipur will continue to escalate till the time there is no permanent political solution or Biren Singh remains the Chief Minister,” said Janghaolun, a spokesperson of Manipur’s Kuki Inpi.
Security forces also conducted joint combing operations in Kangpokpi and Imphal West district.
BJP MLA RK Imo Singh in a letter to Union Home minister Amit Shah questioned the role of central forces if they were unable to bring peace. He asked the Home Ministry to withdraw central forces from the state if their presence fails to stop violence.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr Singh said if central forces fail to deliver results, the state security personnel should be allowed to take charge in an effort to restore peace in the ethnic violence-hit state.
