As many as 30 insurgents, who fired at unarmed civilians, have been shot dead by security forces in Manipur, said N Biren Singh, the chief minister of the violence-hit northeastern state, on May 28.
Singh, while speaking to newspersons in Imphal, stressed that the deceased persons were “shooting at unarmed civilians”. “I won’t call them Kuki militants. They are Kuki terrorists,” NDTV quoted him as saying. The state has been on the edge for more than a month due to the clashes that erupted between the Kuki tribe and the Meitei community.
The latest round of clashes, however, did not erupt between the two communities but between Kuki insurgents and security forces, Singh noted.
Sources told NDTV that the insurgents, who were gunned down by the security personnel, had attacked five areas – Sekmai, Sugnu, Kumbi, Phayeng and Serou – that are located around the Imphal Valley, at around 2 am.
“In retaliatory and defensive operations against these terrorist groups who are using sophisticated arms against the civilian population, around 30 of these terrorists have been killed in different areas. A few have also been arrested by the security forces,” news agency ANI quoted the chief minister as saying.