US Concerned About ‘Brutal’ Sexual Violence Incident in Manipur

New Delhi: The United States on Sunday said it was deeply concerned about reports of sexual violence coming out of Manipur, including the viral video that made headlines across the world and forced the local authorities into action.

A US State Department spokesperson called the incident “brutal” and “terrible” and said the United States conveyed its sympathies to the victims, Reuters reported.

The incident in question occurred on May 4. Three Kuki women were paraded naked and sexually assaulted allegedly by a mob of Meitei men. An FIR was filed on May 18, but the police and state government jumped into action only after the video of the incident went viral last week. Six arrests have now been made.

Multiple incidents of sexual violence have now been reported from strife-torn Manipur, which has been seeing ethnic violence since May 3. About 150 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced since the violence began.

Earlier, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had said that the US was willing to help India deal with the violence “if asked”. “When you ask us about the concern of the United States, I don’t think it’s a strategic concern. I think it’s about human concern… You don’t have to be Indian to care when you see children and individuals die in the sort of violence that we see [in Manipur] and we know that peace is the precedent for so many other good things. There have been so many good things in the northeast and the east here and those can’t continue without peace,” he had said.

The article is published on thewire.in