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Five killed in fresh ethnic violence in India's Manipur state
Police said the deaths followed two separate attacks as long-running ethnic tensions between Kuki and Naga communities flared again.
Five Kuki men were killed in separate incidents in Manipur on Saturday and Sunday, police said. Three died in Noney district during gunfire between "unidentified armed miscreants," while two bodies were recovered in Kangpokpi district.
Tensions between the Christian Kuki and Naga tribes over competing land claims have escalated following a Naga man's alleged assault in February and the killing of three Kuki pastors in May.
The Kuki community is also embroiled in a separate, bloody ethnic conflict with the mainly Hindu Meitei community that began in May 2023 over economic benefits and job quotas. More than 60,000 people remain displaced, with more than 300 lives lost.
A top Kuki tribal body blamed Naga separatist outfits for the killings, describing them as a "direct unprovoked assault." Mass protests erupted in Imphal demanding the abrogation of a ceasefire arrangement between Kuki armed groups and the Indian state.
Security personnel launched a search operation in Kangpokpi following the discovery of the two bodies. The ongoing Kuki-Naga clashes continue to destabilize the remote northeastern state of India, deepening the region's fragile security situation.
<p style="text-align: justify;">Protests have once again intensified amid ethnic tensions in Manipur. Thousands of people rallied in the state capital, Imphal, on Sunday, demanding the cancellation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with militant groups and the safe return of people displaced by the violence. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Organized by the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), the rally was att…