Suspected Kuki insurgents target police commando vehicles in Manipur's Moreh, houses burnt

According to preliminary reports, indiscriminate firing was continuing near New Moreh entrance gate and M Chahnou village.

Guwahati: At least four Manipur police commandos were injured in an attack by suspected Kuki insurgents at Moreh since Saturday night that involved the use of Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) as the situation in the trade town situated near the border with Myanmar remained tense on the eve of the New Year.

Sources said the police commandos were injured in firing that followed the RPG attack on Moreh police station at around 11.24 pm on Saturday night. Some policemen were aurally affected by the RPG attack and properties in the police station were damaged. Firing again took place at around 5 pm on Sunday but there was no report of any casualty.

The administration in Tengnoupal district, under which Moreh falls, imposed a curfew and additional forces were reportedly airlifted by helicopters to Moreh to augment the operations against the suspected Kuki insurgents. Moreh is a Kuki-dominated town and had witnessed large scale violence and arson in May when the riot involving the Kukis and the Meiteis started.

A policeman was injured in firing on Saturday.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a forum of the Kuki tribes in Manipur, said that police commandos started unprovoked firing and burnt houses of the Kuki villagers.

Nearly 200 people have been killed and over 60,000 others displaced in the clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis since May. The sporadic incidents despite efforts to restore peace has become a concern in the Northeastern state.

Forget and forgive

Expressing concern over the violence for the past eight months, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday urged all to forget and forgive the past trauma and start the New Year in an atmosphere of love and compassion. "With the onset of the New Year, let us all resolve to stand together, rise above all evil thoughts and work steadfastly to take the state back to its earlier track of growth and development," Singh said in his New Year greetings, on Sunday. On Saturday, Singh said some "evil elements" were trying to disturb the efforts to restore peace in the state by resorting to sporadic incidents of violence.