Manipur Unrest Continues, Fresh Firing Reported In 2 Places

Unrest continues in Manipur has fresh firing has been reported in two places in the state.

Unrest continues in Manipur has fresh firing has been reported in two places in the state.

Source : PTI

Intermittent firing has been reported from two places in Manipur, officials said on Wednesday.

Around 15-20 rounds of automatic weapon fire was heard at 11.45 pm on Tuesday before it fell silent, at Thangjing in Manipur East, they said.

Sporadic firing was also reported from Geljang and Singda, both falling in Kangchup area.

"Between 8 pm and 9.30 pm, 4-5 rounds were fired from Geljan & Singda areas. It's speculative fire and not at each other. Distance between the two places is 2 km," an official said.

Assam Rifles personnel went to both the locations to find out if there were any injuries or casualties.

Four suspected cadres of the proscribed militant outfit United National Liberation Front (UNLF) were arrested in Thoubal district of ethnic violence affected Manipur, the Army said on Tuesday.

A 51 mm mortar, an anti-personnel bomb, was recovered from the four cadres.

“Acting on intelligence inputs, a Mobile Vehicle Check Post was established near Police Station Lilong on the night of June 19. Four suspected cadres in two separate vehicles were apprehended with one 51 mm mortar,” the Army said in a tweet.

The four were handed over to the police and have been charged under Section 34 IPC and 25(1-C) Arms Act (Unauthorised possession of arms), the force said.

The UNLF is one of the oldest insurgent groups of Manipur.

More than 100 people have lost their lives in the violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur that broke out over a month ago.

Clashes first broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals - Nagas and Kukis - constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)