SW News: The northeastern state of Manipur in India is still simmering after a fresh round of violence broke out between members of the Hindu-dominant Meitei and Christian Kuki tribal communities. In the latest incident, nine people have been killed after violence erupted a day ago. The residence of a minister was also torched on Wednesday.

Media reports quote army sources as saying that violence broke out in the Khamenlok area. For the past few days, the area has been a boiling cauldron with a curfew in place. According to army sources, an armed mob unleashed violence on the village dominated by Kukis and in the gun battle that followed, both sides suffered casualties

The place where the violence broke out is situated on the border of East Imphal district dominated by members of the Meitei community and Kangpokpi district where tribals have the upper hand. Against the backdrop of clashes, district authorities have shortened the curfew relaxation hours from 5 am to 6 pm in Imphal East and 5 am to 9 am in Imphal West.

On Wednesday night, unknown miscreants torched the official residence of Minister Nemcha Kigpen in Lamphel in Imphal West district. Fortunately, no one, including the minister who belongs to the Kuki community, was present when the house was set on fire. Before the flames could spread, they were doused by firefighters who rushed to the spot. So far, no outfit has claimed responsibility for the arson.

The spurt in violence has seriously affected efforts to restore calm in the restive state where tensions are high for more than a month because of clashes between members of the two ethnic groups. About 100 people have lost their lives in the attacks and hundreds have been injured. The fighting has also displaced thousands of people. Several churches and Church institutions were also targeted in the ethnic violence as most of the Kuki tribals profess the Christian faith.
Out of 16 districts in the northeastern state, curfew is in place in 11 and internet services have been suspended everywhere.