In Manipur’s Jiribam, some flee attacks for second time since the conflict began in 2023

Kuki-Zo civil society organisations said nearly 45 homes of 
Kuki-Zo and Hmar people were burnt down. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

As the ethnic conflict in Manipur continues with fresh tensions erupting in the Jiribam district, survivors from the latest round of attacks on Meitei and Kuki-Zo villages told The Hindu that while some of them had to flee their homes for the second time since the conflict began on May 3 last year, others maintained that they were being systematically removed from their homes.

Tension gripped residents of Jiribam district last week when violence broke out in the wake of locals discovering the body of a Meitei farmer, Soibam Saratkumar Singh (59), who had gone missing weeks ago. Soon after, locals had gathered around the Jiribam police station and started demanding that they be allowed to arm themselves for their own protection. The Jiribam District Magistrate imposed a district-wide curfew immediately.

However, with suspicions flying around as to the perpetrators of Mr. Singh’s murder, Kuki-Zo locals in Uchathol Hmar Veng, Vengnuam Paite Veng, and Songkoveng villages started reporting attacks on them. Around Vengnuam, a church was reported to be burnt down along with the homes of several civilians.

‘Homes vandalised’

“Around 5-6 p.m. on June 6, my parents saw the attackers come to their village near Vengnuam. Around 15-20 people were staying there, including my siblings. So they all ran away into the bushes and waited as the attackers vandalised their homes and a church. Then, the Assam Rifles personnel rescued my parents,” said Tracy, 31, whose family is from Jiribam district in Manipur.

“This is the second attack on our homes. The first one was on May 4, the day after the violence broke out and then too our family members had to flee. Now, they have managed to reach safety in Nagaland after going through Assam,” added Ms. Tracy, who lives in Delhi and is in touch with her family in Nagaland right now.

Kuki-Zo CSOs said around 45 homes of Kuki-Zo and Hmar people were burnt down and that a 40-year-old resident of Vengnuam, L. Lallianmuang, was allegedly abducted by people suspected to be from the armed radical outfit Arambai Tenggol. 

Meanwhile, on the evening of June 6 around the same time, several Meitei villages such as Lamtai Khunou and Morbung started getting messages that they were being surrounded by militants.

“Around sunset, we were told that Kuki militants were surrounding our village Lamtai Khunou and so we panicked. We went to the nearest police station fearing for our safety and from there the security forces evacuated us to the nearest IDP camp. Around four hours later, we found out that all our homes had been burnt down,” Akoijam Lakhirani Chanu, 24, a resident of Lamtai Khunou, told The Hindu over the phone, who is now staying at the Bidyanagar Sports Complex relief camp.

As tensions rose in the area, the adjoining Tamenglong district also imposed a curfew in the villages along the Jiribam border with several Kuki-Zo civil society organisations issuing statements condemning the reactionary violence on their villages. They maintained that locals had mistaken Mr. Singh’s killers to be from one community without any proof.

However, Meitei civil society organisations and locals have maintained that the pattern of their evacuation every time during the conflict has cast aspersions on the conduct of security forces. Leaders of the Meitei Heritage Society and the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee (DMCC) have raised questions about the torching of Meitei homes immediately after they are evacuated by security forces.

“Instead of protecting them when they feel unsafe, the security forces are evacuating them,” Seram Rojesh, convener of the DMCC said.

Days after this spate of violence and relocation, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said that nearly 30 homes, two police checkposts, and the Borobekra Forest beat office were torched by suspected militants.

Security sources said that no fresh incident had been reported in the area in the last two days and that planned regular joint operations were being run as per requirements. Meanwhile, additional forces of Manipur Police, CRPF, and Assam Rifles have been sent to the district and the Superintendent of Police has been transferred out.