The majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis have clashed sporadically since last year after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the Kukis to the Meiteis as well.
More than 225 people have been killed and some 60,000 have been displaced.
Saturday’s gunfire incident represents the most number of casualties for a single day in the latest spurt of violence that began a week ago. The attacks earlier this week have also seen the use of drones to drop explosive devices in what authorities have called a significant escalation, South China Morning Post reported.
“Fighting has been going on between armed groups of both the communities since the morning,” said Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of the state’s Jiribam district where the clash occurred.
According to Indian media reports, the civilian was shot dead in his sleep. “He was fired upon in his room itself,” Kumar told Reuters, adding that security forces had been deployed to control the situation.
Manipur has ordered all schools in the state to remain shut on Saturday.
A state of 3.2 million people, Manipur has been divided into two ethnic enclaves since the conflict began in May 2023 – a valley controlled by the Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills. The areas are separated by a stretch of no-man’s-land monitored by federal paramilitary forces.
MA/PR