According to authorities, there were five more fatalities in the Jiribam area of Manipur on Saturday.
On the other hand, security forces demolished three militant bunkers in the Churachandpur district on Friday following rocket strikes by the rebels in nearby Bishnupur that left one person dead and six injured.
According to a police officer, four more individuals were slain in a shootout between members of two rival groups in Jiribam district on Saturday after one person was shot dead in his sleep.
According to him, militants shot the lone resident dead in his sleep after breaking into his home in a remote area some five kilometers from the district administration headquarters.
Four armed people, including three militants from the hills, were killed in a fierce gunfight that broke out between members of the opposing communities in the hills after the killing, the officer added. The fighting occurred around 7 km from the district administration offices.
More arson occurred in Jiribam district earlier this week when a retired police officer’s abandoned three-room home in Jakuradhor in the Borobekra police station area was set on fire by what are believed to be “village volunteers.”
Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee, a tribal organization made up of Pherzawl and Jiribam, denied any role in the incident.
Despite members of the Meitei and Hmar groups coming to an agreement to “prevent incidents of arson and firing” at a meeting held on August 1 at a CRPF facility in neighboring Cachar, Assam, the district saw new acts of violence.
Assam Rifles and CRPF troops, together with representatives from the Hmar, Meitei, Thadou, Paite, and Mizo groups of Jiribam district, participated in the conference, which was mediated by the district government.
However, a number of Hmar tribal organizations located outside of Jiribam district condemned the pact, claiming to be unaware of its existence.
Three terrorist bunkers were demolished on Friday by security forces during operations in the Churachandpur district’s Laika Mualsau and Mualsang villages.
“Militants deployed long-range rockets among the civilian population in two locations of Bishnupur district in one of which one senior citizen civilian expired, and six other civilians were injured”, a police statement stated.
Teams of police and other security personnel carried out a combing operation in the nearby hill ranges.
“Two bunkers at Mualsang village and one bunker at Laika Mualsau village of Churachandpur were destroyed,” it stated.
As police units, including the Bishnupur SP, raced to the scene, they came under fire from alleged militants. However, the law enforcement officers struck back, repulsing the attack.
It also stated that a military chopper has been sent out to carry out aerial patrolling.
It stated that high-level security meetings have been convened to assess the state of law and order.
The statement further stated that authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation and are ready to respond to any eventuality.
Six people were injured and one person died when suspected militants fired two rockets in the Bishnupur district on Friday. The attacks came as tension in the Imphal Valley increased after a string of high-tech attacks over the previous few days.
The rocket strikes followed earlier this week when bombs were dropped on individuals at two neighboring locations in the Imphal West district using drones.
In the state where ethnic conflict has left thousands homeless and over 200 dead since May of last year, both were previously unheard of.
Following reports of repeated drone sightings on Friday night, residents in the outskirts of the districts of Bishnupur and Imphal East turned down their lights, according to officials.
Residents in Pukhao, Dolaithabi, and Shantipur in Imphal East district as well as Narainsena and Nambol Kamong in Bishnupur district were alarmed by the sighting of numerous drones, they continued.
Since May of last year, ethnic conflict between the Meiteis, who live in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo, who live in the nearby hills, has resulted in over 200 deaths and thousands of homeless people.
The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which had been mostly spared from ethnic violence in the Imphal Valley and surrounding hills, erupted in violence in June of this year following the alleged murder of a 59-year-old man from one group by militants from another community.
Both sides have set fire to homes, forcing thousands of people to flee and seek refuge in rescue camps. Amid July security forces’ patrol, a terrorist ambush claimed the life of a CRPF jawan.