Firing reported at Manipur’s Moirangpurel; some Assam Rifles units blocked by Meitei protesters

Intermittent firing was reported farther east, in the Moirangpurel area along the border of the Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts.

With tensions already simmering in Jiribam district in western Manipur after a recent spate of violence there, intermittent firing was reported farther east on Wednesday, in the Moirangpurel area along the border of the Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts. As security forces conducted area domination exercises, some of them were blocked by civilian women’s groups protesting the presence of the Assam Rifles, according to videos of the incident that have been circulating online.

Some Assam Rifles units were blocked from carrying out their duty by the Meitei protesters, a source said, adding that no injuries or casualties have been reported as a result of the Moirangpurel firing. The gunfire has stopped, and there was no further incident throughout the day.

This comes in the wake of last week’s violence in Jiribam district, with many Meitei people saying that their homes were burnt down in villages like Lamtai Khunou and Mongbum after they were evacuated by security forces on June 6. They asked why the security forces were removing them from their homes instead of protecting them from their attackers.

Meitei civil society organisations alleged that this has been a pattern throughout the conflict. “The Central government’s strategy of evacuating Meitei villages under the guise of protection has instead facilitated the occupation of these areas by Kuki groups. This demographic reshuffling, purportedly for safety, is a tactical manoeuvre that favours Kuki aggressors and displaces Meitei communities,” COCOMI, a valley-based organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.

Following the violence in Jiribam, security forces fenced parts of the roads leading to IB Leikai from Chandrapur. Local Meitei residents have strongly objected to this measure, with civilian groups like Meira Paibis and the Chandrapur club citing difficulties in accessing their homes. In a letter to the Chief Minister on Tuesday, they requested that the fencing be moved westward to allow access to villagers.

They also alleged that an Assam Rifles unit posted in the area had notified Meitei villagers of Chandrapur ward 7 of the risk of staying back in their homes amidst the recent flare up. In their letter, the Meitei groups said that this purportedly “indicates that the security forces deployed there is meant for safeguarding only Kuki communities”.

Throughout the conflict, both warring communities have alleged that parts of the security forces are biased towards the other. While the Kuki-Zo community maintains that the Manipur Police is biased towards the Meitei community, the Meiteis insist that certain Central forces such as the Assam Rifles are biased towards the Kuki-Zo. Both the Assam Rifles and the Manipur police, however, say they have been working without bias for the last year to contain the violence in the State.