The militants’ pogrom against ‘non-locals’ spilled over from Assam to neighbouring Manipur.

The rebels killed at least 14 ‘non-Manipuris’ in the two districts of Imphal Valley on Monday and Tuesday. Most of the victims are believed to be migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The killers scribbled a message on the back of some of the victims — “Go back to your home states”.

The incidents in Manipur came close on the heels of yet another round of rebel offensive against the Hindi-speaking people in Assam, where the proscribed ULFA recently shot dead four brick-kiln workers — all migrants from Bihar.

The ULFA has killed over 150 Hindi-speaking people in Assam since January 2007. The outfit says the migrants and settlers from northern states like Bihar and UP pose a serious threat to the indigenous people of Assam.
Though several militant organisations are pursuing secessionist rebellions in Manipur, they rarely targeted migrants and settlers from the northern states.

The state’s chief minister O Ibobi Singh said he had instructed the Superintendents of Police in all the districts to tighten the security arrangements in and around areas containing non-local residents.

The authorities enforced night curfew in four valley districts to pre-empt more killings and avert a clash between the two groups.