The latest clashes began after the army and para-military forces commenced combing operations to de-arm communities in order to bring peace, officials said.
In a fresh round of violence in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, mutilated bodies of three youths were found following heavy gunfire at Kuki Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, officials said.
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An attempt was also made to torch another property of the consumer and food affairs minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on Friday night but timely intervention prevented it.
The Meitei group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 firearms to security forces in Manipur, bringing the total number of weapons surrendered to 307. The surrender follows a deadline set by Governor Ajay Bhalla for the return of illegal weapons. Arambai Tenggol's decision was influenced by assurances from the governor, including the eradication of opium poppy cultivation, implementation of border fencing, and a general amnesty for members of the group. Officials believe the surrender will contribute to restoring peace in the state, which has been rocked by ethnic violence for nearly two years. The police have urged others in possession of illegal firearms to surrender them before the deadline. Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh welcomed the surrender, calling it a "big step towards peace."
The militants armed with sophisticated weapons surrounded the villagers of the Khamelok area bordering Imphal East district and Kangpoki district and launched the attack at around 1 am, the police said.
There was a brief lull between 3 am and 6 am, but the sounds of indiscriminate firing from Phayeng and Singda villages in the Kangchuk area along the two districts resumed after that.
The villagers were venting their anger after militants burnt down at least 100 abandoned houses including the residence of Sugnu Congress MLA K Ranjit at Serou in Kakching district on Saturday midnight.
The meeting happened amid fresh violence in the state, in which at least five people were killed in Jiribam district on Saturday.
The state government order came amid reports that properties belonging to members of one of the warring communities are being burnt or razed to the ground by the other in various places.
A commando contingent of the Manipur police has been airlifted to Jiribam on Saturday morning from Imphal to assist in the security operations against the militants, police said.
Altogether 45 students were injured in Manipur's Imphal Valley on Tuesday as the police fired tear gas shells and baton-charged a mob protesting against the killing of two youths who were allegedly kidnapped in July, officials said.
The incident occurred at Sapormeina when the buses were coming from Dimapur on Tuesday evening.
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a video from May 4 surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side, officials said in Imphal on Wednesday.
This is the fourth incident since the commencement of the conflict in Manipur wherein soldiers while on leave, on duty or their relatives have been targeted for nefarious interests by inimical elements.
The move could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime prevalent along the porous border.
They said keeping in mind the situation arising out of ethnic clashes that broke out in the state on May 4, a team of women officials and personnel from Manipur police was formed to probe the case.
Manipur witness more violence on Tuesday when unidentified armed men, suspected to be cadres of banned terror groups, attacked people from the tribal community in the morning killing three of them in Kangpokpi district, officials said.
They staged sit-in demonstrations in various localities blocking roads, demanding the removal of Assam Rifles from violence-hit areas and accusing the paramilitary force of "brutality during recent agitations".
The video, which drew widespread condemnation, shows the men constantly molesting the two helpless women, who cry and plead with their captors to spare them the horror.
In most parts of the landlocked northeastern state, items such as rice, potato, onion and egg besides LPG cylinders and petrol are selling at rates much above the ones fixed by the government.
A mob tried to attack Chief Minister N Biren Singh's empty ancestral house on Thursday night, despite a security clampdown and curfew in the Imphal valley.
Around 20 MLAs belonging to the warring Meitei and Kuki communities of Manipur met in New Delhi on Tuesday for the first time since ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state 17 months ago, in a bid to hammer out a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.
Two abandoned houses were set on fire by unidentified people in Manipur's Imphal West district in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said.
Security presence which has been bolstered by flying in more army troops and rapid action force and central police forces was clearly visible at all major areas and roads.
The ban was imposed on her by civil society group Kangleipak Kanba Lup for taking part in the event held in Delhi, amid the ongoing violence in Manipur.
State security advisor Kuldiep Singh said that lawful action will be taken against those displaying firearms at the parade.
The Manipur police dismissed the claims of Lt Gen PC Nair, a retired DG of Assam Rifles, in a recent media interview that no drones or rockets have been used in the attacks.
The gunfight broke out in Phoubakchao Ikhai area, around 50 km from state capital Imphal, on Thursday morning and continued for around 15 hours till late at night, when the insurgents fled the area.
The Commission of Inquiry was supposed to submit its report to the central government "as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting".
Government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan said that the government is making efforts towards this end.
The force also asked the Churachandpur police to disseminate the inputs to the SP of Kakching district and higher authorities so that "preemptive action can be taken to avert any kind of adverse incident".
The spark for the raging violence was lit by demonstrations by tribal groups against a move to grant the majority Meiteis the Scheduled Tribe status, which the residents of the hills had been enjoying for decades since Independence.
'But at least the stepping stone has started.'
In a significant step towards restoring peace in Manipur, representatives of the warring Meitei and Kuki communities met face-to-face for the first time since ethnic violence erupted nearly two years ago. The meeting, facilitated by the Union Home Ministry, aimed to enhance trust and cooperation between the communities and find a roadmap to restore normalcy in the state.
Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla has extended the deadline for the surrender of looted and illegal arms until 4 PM on March 6 following requests from both hill and valley areas for additional time. The initial deadline for the voluntary surrender of arms ended on February 24. Bhalla has assured that no punitive action will be taken against those who surrender their weapons within this period, emphasising that "this is the last opportunity for everyone concerned to contribute to peace, communal harmony, the future of our youth, and the security of our society."
The development came two days after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a decision has been taken to provide security to the farmers who will start the cropping season.
The curfew imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be relaxed from 7 am to 10 am, it said.
Stating that 35 weapons of different types, ammunition and warlike stores were recovered on the second day of joint combing operations on Thursday in the hills and valley sector, the official said that the security forces are adopting confidence building measure and a people centric approach to alleviate the hardships of the people, affected by the month-long ethnic strife in the northeastern state.
The FMR allows people residing close to the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.
