Guwahati, 4 May: AK-47s and other sophisticated weaponry have been seen being carried by claimed civilians on social media accounts as a result of protests from tribal organisations against a court decision regarding Churachandpur’s Scheduled Tribe classification.
The accuracy of the accusation has not yet been confirmed. However, the protestors are believed to be members of a suspended Kuki tribal militant group who have stopped working with the Centre.
On May 3, bullet injuries in Saikul of Kangpokpi district, Manipur left over 11 civilians injured while two others lost their lives. Conflicts during the continuing solidarity march by the ATSUM (All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur) in opposition to the Meitei’s demand for inclusion on the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list took place in numerous areas of Manipur’s hill districts on the evening of May 3.
Among the wounded civilians, five were hospitalised for bullet injuries and two of them died as a result of their wounds. Even though the situation in Manipur is still tight, more paramilitary forces have been brought in to calm things down.
Asserting that the commanders of the terrorist organisations Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) were not from the state, the Manipur government earlier in March 2023 decided to revoke its ceasefire agreement with them. The choice was made in response to a recent claim that the two Kuki rebel organisations’ top leaders are from Myanmar.
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