Woman Dies After Her House Set On Fire In Manipur's Jiribam

A woman died when her house was set on fire by a group of armed militants in ethnic strife-torn Manipur's Jiribam district, police said on Friday. At least six other other houses were set on fire in Zairawn Hmar village, a tribal settlement, on Thursday.

The attack in Jiribam came after a lull in violence for a month. Earlier, six people were killed in a gunfight on September 7 in Jiribam district.

The violence also comes days after talks were held between MLAs of the warring Meitei and Kuki communities in New Delhi in a bid to hammer out a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis in Manipur since May last year. The conflict has simmered since then, splitting previously cohabitating communities along ethnic lines.

Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a mutilated body of a farmer was found in the fields in June this year.

At around 8:30 pm Thursday evening, a group of armed militants attacked the Zairon Hmar village.

Zosangkim, a mother of three, was killed during the onslaught and her house was set ablaze, engulfing her in flames, leaving her children and husband,  Ngurthansang, to mourn her tragic death and grappling with intense loss and trauma.

"This unjustifiable act of violence is unacceptable and has caused immense harm to the delicate law and order situation in the area. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and stand in solidarity with Zairawn villagers. We demand that the authorities take immediate action to bring the perpetrators to justice without fail and to ensure the safety and security of the village," read a statement from Thadou Community International, a world-wide global network for the Thadou people.

During the assault, the armed miscreants set fire to six other houses, displacing multiple families who now have only charred remains of what once was their village.

"Zairawn is a Hmar village located just 7 km from the main Jiribam town. Villagers said there is a CRPF camp just half a kilometer from the village and security forces used to patrol the village daily," said a statement from Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum, claiming that suspected Meitei militants attacked the village and the CRPF refused to do anything. 

Witnesses recounted scenes of chaos as flames engulfed homes, turning a peaceful evening into a night of horror.