11 Kuki insurgents killed in police firing in Manipur

At least 11 suspected Kuki militants were shot dead in an encounter with the security forces in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Tuesday (November 12), sources said.

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier was injured in the attack by the suspected Kuki militants in the district bordering Assam, sources said.

The soldier was evacuated to Silchar Medical College in Assam.

The bodies of two elderly persons were also found inside a house in Jiribam that was set on fire by suspected insurgents, sources said.

The encounter began after the suspected Kuki insurgents launched a massive attack from two sides on a police station in Jiribam, sources said. There is also a relief camp for internally displaced people next to the police station. The attackers may have looked to target the camp too, sources said.

After attacking the police station, the suspected Kuki insurgents spread out towards a small settlement in Jakurador Karong, some 400 metres from the police station, and began setting houses on fire, sources said, adding they simultaneously engaged in a gunfight with the security forces.

CRPF has sent reinforcements to Jiribam, sources said.

Kuki civil society groups have announced a shutdown in areas dominated by them over the deaths of who they called “village volunteers”. Weapons recovered by the security forces after the gunfight include rocket-propelled grenade (RPGs) and AK series assault rifles.

Both sides maintain that their “village volunteers” use single-barrelled licenced guns, despite hundreds of leaked visuals indicating otherwise.

Tension has been high in Jiribam since last week when a fresh round of violence broke out._Agencies