How Attack On Hmar Village In Manipur's Jiribam By Suspected Meitei Militants Sparked New Cycle Of Violence
NDTV
There is a photo of a gravestone in Jiribam, taken on a November evening when the winter sunlight is a soft yellow. Three children are seen standing around the gravestone, on which the name of their mother has been etched with an epitaph...
One of the worst cycles of the Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence in Manipur since May 2023 began on November 7 in Jiribam district, 220 km from the state capital Imphal, on the interstate border with Assam. At least 19 people have died, including 10 Kuki men who the police have called "militants", in less than two weeks. The Kuki tribes claim the 10 men were "village volunteers".
This multi-ethnic district, where a National Highway akin to a lifeline for Manipur passes through to reach Assam (and hence the rest of the country), had been violence-free for over a year until June, when the body of a Kuki teen was found in a river.
Kuki civil society organisations had alleged a Meitei armed group killed the teen and dumped him into the river. Then the body of a Meitei man was found, allegedly killed by a Kuki armed group in a retaliatory strike.
