At least 10 suspected Kuki insurgents were shot dead in an encounter with the security forces in Manipur's Jiribam district today, sources said. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier was injured in the attack by the suspected Kuki militants in the district bordering Assam, sources said. The soldier was evacuated to Silchar Medical College in Assam.
The bodies of two elderly persons were also found inside a house in Jiribam that was set on fire by suspected insurgents, sources said.
The encounter began after the suspected Kuki insurgents launched a massive attack from two sides on a police station in Jiribam, sources said. There is also a relief camp for internally displaced people next to the police station. The attackers may have looked to target the camp too, sources said.
The attackers likely came in autorickshaws, a police officer told NDTV on phone from Jiribam. This police station in Jiribam's Borobekra had been targeted several times in recent months.
After attacking the police station, the suspected Kuki insurgents spread out towards a small settlement in Jakurador Karong, some 400 metres from the police station, and began setting houses on fire, sources said, adding they simultaneously engaged in a gunfight with the security forces.
CRPF has sent reinforcements to Jiribam, sources said.
Kuki civil society groups have announced a shutdown in areas dominated by them over the deaths of who they called "village volunteers". Weapons recovered by the security forces after the gunfight include rocket-propelled grenade (RPGs) and AK series assault rifles.
Both sides maintain that their "village volunteers" use single-barrelled licenced guns, despite hundreds of leaked visuals indicating otherwise.
Tension has been high in Jiribam since last week when a fresh round of violence broke out.
On Thursday last, a woman from the Hmar tribe was killed by suspected Meitei insurgents, who also set houses on fire in Jiribam. Her husband in a police case alleged she was raped before she was killed.
A day later, a woman from the valley-dominant Meitei community was shot dead by suspected Kuki insurgents while she was working in a paddy field.
This morning, suspected Kuki insurgents opened fire from the hills in Imphal East District, leaving a farmer injured. The attacks during the paddy harvest season have raised concerns as farmers are getting reluctant to go to their fields, officials said.
The CRPF is the country's biggest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). It has evolved into an efficient fighting force with huge successes in anti-Maoist operations in Jharkhand and other states. It made significant contributions to eradicating Naxalism, particularly in West Bengal and in the Kaimur and Rohtas regions of Bihar.
READ | "They Have No Demand, Want To Return Home": CRPF Top Officer At Manipur Relief Camp
In September, CRPF Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Manish Kumar Sachar had said families living in relief camps in Manipur want to return home, provided there is guarantee of their safety.
The Kuki tribes had protested against the Centre's move to shift two Assam Rifles battalions from Manipur to Jammu and Kashmir.
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