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Tuesday December 24, 2024

10 killed in northeast India police station attack

The violence is the latest in a simmering conflict that broke out in Manipur between Hindu and Christian communities

By AFP
November 12, 2024
Police officers stand behind crime scene police tape. — AFP/File
Police officers stand behind crime scene police tape. — AFP/File

GUWAHATI, India: Indian police in troubled northeastern Manipur state on Monday battled with Kuki minority forces after their station was attacked, with at least 10 people killed, a district official said Monday.

The violence is the latest in a simmering conflict that broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community.One officer was wounded as they “repulsed an attack on a police station”, Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of the state´s Jiribam district told AFP, adding that “10 bodies of miscreants have been recovered so far”.

Kuldip Singh, the security adviser to the Manipur government, reported a “heavy” firefight lasting around 45 minutes, saying weapons seized from the dead attackers include assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Troops have been sent to the area to reinforce the security forces.“Operations continue....to flush out armed militants”, Singh said.A Kuki community group, the Kuki-Zo Council, said 11 members had been killed while condemning in the “strongest terms the violence” and calling for a “total shutdown” on Tuesday.