Mob destroys Assam Rifles makeshift camp in Manipur's Kamjong district

Imphal: A mob on Saturday stormed and destroyed a makeshift camp of the Assam Rifles in Manipur's Kamjong district over alleged harassment and restrictions on transportation of timber, officials said.

The members of the group that attacked the camp in Hongbei area belonged to Kasom Khullen block of the Naga majority district.

Tensions escalated on Saturday when the Assam Rifles jawans allegedly barred transportation of timber intended for construction of houses in Kasom Khullen, officials said.

Assam Rifles personnel used tear gas shells and fired in the air to disperse the protesters, they said.

The mob later destroyed the makeshift camp of the paramilitary force and demanded that they be removed from the area.

No casualty was reported in the melee.

The Assam Rifles is one of the central forces that were deployed in various parts of Manipur which has been in the grip of ethnic violence between Kukis and Meiteis, that left over 250 people killed and thousands homeless since May 2023.