Three Kuki community members were killed during fresh violence that broke out in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Friday morning, The Indian Express reported. Tangkhul Naga-dominated Ukhrul has been relatively peaceful since the beginning of the ethnic unrest in Manipur.
The ethnic violence since May 03 has killed more than 190 people, two third of them from the Kuki-Zo community. 0ver 60,000 people are displaced by the armed conflict that has made little to none progress in terms of peace talks.
The incident took place at around 4.30 am, the police said, in the Kuki village of Thowai Kuki, which comes under the jurisdiction of Ukhrul police.
The three killed are identified as Thangkhokai Haokip, Jamkhogin Haokip and Hollenson Baite. They are part of the village defence volunteers who guard tribal land from miscreants from the Meitei community.
Ukhrul itself has not seen violence in the ongoing clashes between the state’s Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities that took about 190 lives.
The village is located on the border between the Naga-dominated Ukhrul district and the Meitei-dominated Imphal East district. Nagas have not been directly involved in the violence yet.
