Parts of Manipur state in northeast India shut down after 10 people killed by security forces
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/11/2024 (682 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Ethnic organizations in parts of India’s violence-wracked northeastern state shut schools and businesses Tuesday, protesting the killings of 10 people by paramilitary soldiers.
They called for an 11-hour shutdown in the hill districts of Manipur from 5 a.m. Tuesday. Heavy gunfire was reported overnight in the periphery of the hills and the Imphal Valley.
Life was paralyzed in the area, with schools and businesses closed and people staying indoors. There were no vehicles on the road.
The Manipur state police said those killed Monday were “armed militants” and the soldiers fired at them after they attacked their post near the district town of Jiribam on Monday.
One soldier with a bullet injury was evacuated to a hospital for treatment, the police said in a statement.
However, the Tribal Leaders’ Forum said all those killed were local village volunteers belonging to the Hmar ethnic group who were patrolling the area to protect tribal villages following a recent armed attack that killed a woman.
A police statement said the paramilitary soldiers fiercely retaliated against the militants’ attack, and a heavy exchange of heavy gunfire lasted 45 minutes.
“A search of the area resulted in the recovery of 10 bodies of armed militants as well as sophisticated automatic weapons,″ the statement said.
Manipur state has been bristling with ethnic violence since May last year between the majority Meiteis and the minority Kuki-Zo ethnic group. The Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindus, live in the capital Imphal region of the state and the nearby districts, while the Kuki-Zos live in the hilly areas.
Around 250 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced since the ethnic violence started last year.
The Meiteis demand that they be listed as a Scheduled Tribe, which would bring them more benefits, such as quotas in jobs and educational institutions. That categorization would also bar non-Meiteis from buying land in the Meiteis strongholds in the Imphal Valley.
The Kukis oppose this, saying benefits like reservation are given only to tribal groups because they are considered backward economically and in the field of education. The Kukis said the Meiteis are a developed community and, therefore, should not be listed as a Scheduled Tribe.