Intense firing reported in two Manipur districts

Firing incidents were reported in two areas of Manipur on Wednesday at around 4:30 am. The previous incident of intermittent firing between the communities took place on July 4, in the evening.

Intense firing was reported in certain areas of Manipur in the early hours of Wednesday. The firing began at around 4:30 am, specifically in the Kangpokpi district and Bishnupur district, according to news agency PTI.

No casualties have been reported so far. The previous incident of intermittent firing between two communities took place on July 4, between 7 and 8 pm, reported PTI, quoting security officials.

The exchange of gunfire stopped after this period, and no casualties were reported.

Earlier, on the morning of July 4, a group of armed miscreants made an attempt to loot weapons from the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) located in a village in Manipur’s Thoubal district. A 27-year-old man was killed in the clash between the miscreants and security officials, and an Assam Rifles jawan was shot at.

The mob tried to storm the camp of an India Reserve Battalion in the Khangabok area to loot arms and ammunition, they said.

Soon, a clash with the forces broke out. The forces tried to bring the situation under control and used teargas shells and rubber bullets at first. But as the armed mob opened fire, the forces shot back, officials said.

The situation in several parts of Manipur was tense, with sporadic incidents of violence, the state police said in a statement on Monday. Around 118 check-points have been set up and 326 people detained across the state as violence continues unabated.

Manipur has been witnessing widespread ethnic clashes since May 3, when a Kuki solidarity march by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) to protest the Meitei community’s demand for a Scheduled Tribe state took a violent turn.

The article is published on https://www.indiatoday.in/