The Centre on Monday extended the ceasefire agreements with three insurgent groups of Nagaland for one more year till April next year.
The funeral of 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who were killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF, has been delayed pending the release of post-mortem reports. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), representing the Kuki-Zo community, is exploring the possibility of conducting a second autopsy in Churachandpur. The youths' bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur from Assam's Silchar town on Saturday. The incident follows a series of clashes between security forces and militants in the region. The post-mortem examination of the 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who ITLF claimed were village volunteers as against the Manipur government's assertion that they were militants, was conducted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam. The bodies have been kept in the local hospital morgue for the time being.
Post-mortem examination reports of 10 Kuki-Zo youths killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF in Manipur have revealed that they sustained multiple fatal bullet injuries, with most of them fired from behind. The reports also noted that the youths were in camouflage and khaki dresses when they were brought for autopsy. The incident has raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the ongoing ethnic violence in the state.
'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
One person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire between armed men of two warring communities, a police officer said.
The National People's Party (NPP) has withdrawn support from the BJP-led government in Manipur, citing the government's failure to resolve the ongoing crisis and restore normalcy in the state. The NPP, which has 7 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, made the decision after recent incidents of violence and protests in the state. The BJP continues to hold a majority in the Assembly, with 32 legislators, and the withdrawal of support is not expected to affect the government's stability.
The autopsy report of the 31-year-old tribal woman, who was killed in Manipur's violence-hit Jiribam district on November 7, revealed that she was subjected to third-degree torture and suffered 99 per cent burns.
Curfew was relaxed in three Imphal Valley districts on Tuesday and the suspension on broadband internet lifted with conditions, even as Chief Minister N Biren Singh blamed the Congress for the present crisis in Manipur and NDA MLAs called for a "mass operation" against militants responsible for the killing of six women and children. Peaceful rallies were also staged across the state, with hundreds taking to the streets with empty coffins in Churachandpur district, demanding justice for those killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jiribam, and members of various civil society organisations bringing out a procession in Imphal West district to protest the reimposition of AFSPA in parts of the state.
The Zomi-Kuki organisation also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for a permanent solution to the ongoing ethnic strife
At least seven persons, including three women, were killed in a remote village in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on Friday during a clash between Karbi tribe militants and Rengma Naga who defied quit notice served on them by the Karbi ultras.
It said there is anger among Mizo youths, who are deeply anguished over the "barbaric and atrocious act of Meiteis" against Zo or Kuki ethnic people in Manipur.
Seven Assam Rifles personnel and one Territorial Army jawan lost their lives.
Over 50 armed militants stormed the house of Khangthauanang Panmei, the independent candidate, overpowered the security guards and beat up his supporters before kidnapping him.
Normal life was affected in Manipur on Thursday because of an 18-hour general strike called by some major social organistions to protest against kidnapping of a businessman by suspected Naga militants.
Six people -- three women and three children -- belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.
The funeral of 12 Kuki-Zo youths, including 10 killed in a gunfight with the CRPF in Jiribam district, will take place in Churachandpur on Thursday. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) has called for a complete shutdown in Churachandpur in honour of the deceased men. The funeral will be attended by Mizoram Chief Minister's Adviser H Ginzalala.
Five police personnel have been placed under suspension in connection with the incident in which a 29-year-old journalist was killed in police firing in Manipur, official sources said on Monday. The sources said a three-member enquiry committee headed by Principal Secretary, Home, Suresh Babu has been constituted to probe Sunday's incident and the panel would submit its report to the government for further action within a week.
A journalist was killed in police firing on the second day of the indefinite strike in Manipur called by a film body demanding the arrest of a Naga militant for allegedly molesting a film actress.
'The visit of the honourable PM with the workable strategy towards conflict resolution will help greatly.' 'But visiting the state without concrete proposals may not bring the desired outcome at this stage.'
A protester was killed in firing during a clash between security forces and a mob vandalising properties in Manipur's Jiribam district. The incident occurred late on Sunday night when agitators were protesting the killing of women and children abducted by militants. The deceased has been identified as K Athouba, who was in his twenties. The offices of the Congress and BJP, and a house belonging to Jiribam's Independent MLA were ransacked by a group of agitators. Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed in Imphal Valley, where curfew remained enforced and internet services suspended after agitators vandalised and set ablaze properties belonging to several ministers and legislators.
A Manipur Police commando and two police constables were killed while nine others were injured when militants ambushed road-opening parties at two different places in Chandel district of Manipur on Thursday.
Manipur Police has registered a first information report (FIR) accusing the Assam Rifles of blocking their vehicle after an altercation between the two groups last week, while the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace Assam Rifles 'by any other paramilitary force permanently' from the state.
'I appeal to the Government of India to hasten the peace process,' he said.
Forty MLAs from violence-hit Manipur have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the state requires complete disarmament to foster an environment of peace and security.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said there would be 'zero tolerance' towards militancy and violence while addressing a public gathering at Khonsa, the headquarters of troubled Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.
At least 12 persons, including eight children and two women, were gunned down by unidentified tribal militants and 15 houses were torched at Michidui village inhabited by Zeme Naga tribe under Haflong police station as fresh violence rocked the insurgency-hit North Cachar Hill district of Assam on Tuesday.
'We are not secessionists, we want to coexist with our countrymen but not on the terms that will strip us off our dignity and a right to peaceful existence.'
The Centre is likely to rush additional paramilitary forces to trouble-torn areas along the Assam-Nagaland border to maintain peace and prevent the clashes between Naga and Karbi tribals from spreading.
Besides law and order, the long standing demand for junking Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, economic woes of the land-locked state which has hardly any industries, are expected to figure high on the agenda of the unfolding electoral battle between the two main parties with smaller local parties such as National People's Party and the Naga People's Front chipping in with their own demands.
Prime Minister Manmohon Singh on Saturday said that there were no plans for a 'supra state' for Nagas in the northeast and appealed to militants to ensure peace in Manipur for speeding up development work there. "Manipur needs peace and tranquility for all-round development. Different communities have been living here for centuries and there should not be any misunderstanding among them," Dr Singh told a public meeting.
The appointment of Col (retired) Nectar Sanjenbam for five years followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah statement last month that Kuki people started entering Manipur from Myanmar illegally following a military crackdown on militants.
Altogether 58 militants, including 52 from the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and six from two Naga rebels groups, gave up arms before the Army in two separate surrender ceremonies on Tuesday.
'In a complex situation a PM coming was not necessary'
The present happenings in Manipur are the wages of continued neglect, and not so benign at that, of a vital region and its people. Had we lavished on the North East even a fraction of the care and resources we do on Kashmir, things would not have come to this pass, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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.
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'I don't know whether on voting day there will be intimidation from some militant groups to vote for a particular person and then force them from voting for another in the stronghold of the candidate which does not favour them, or, force them not to come out for voting.' 'Anything is possible.'
A village volunteer was killed in a gunfight between two warring communities in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, officials said on Thursday.
