At least 11 suspected Kuki insurgents were shot dead by security forces during an encounter in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Monday. Two CRPF personnel also sustained injuries in the exchange of fire.
Bodies of those killed were brought to the Borobekra police station, officials said.
The encounter took place at Jakurador Karong in the Borobekra sub-division after heavily armed militants torched several shops and attacked some houses and a CRPF camp. The militants also fired several rounds towards Borobekra police station and engaged in arson.
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Sources said arms and ammunition including three AKs, four SLRs and two INSASs were recovered from the encounter site. One of the two injured CRPF personnel is said to be critical and evacuated to Silchar Medical College in Assam.
"A criminal case has been registered and is being investigated into. Operations in and around Jakuradhor, under Borobekra Police Station, Jiribam District continues to flush out armed militants. Reinforcement teams consisting of Assam Rifles, CRPF and Civil Police have been rushed there," sources said.
According to reports, five civilians are missing in the region and it’s not clear whether they were kidnapped by the militants.
Borobekra sub-division has witnessed multiple gun attacks and arson since violence broke out in June and is one of the worst affected areas in the district.
On Thursday, a group of suspected Meitei militants killed a woman from the Hmar tribe and torched several houses. The woman’s husband alleged she was raped before being killed.
On Saturday, a 34-year-old woman farmer from the Meitei community was shot dead by suspected Kuki militants while working on a paddy field.
On Monday morning, a farmer working in the fields in Imphal East district sustained injuries when militants opened fire from nearby hilltop positions.
Officials said the attacks are affecting the harvesting of paddy crops as many farmers in the periphery areas of the valley are feeling afraid to go to the fields.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence between Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis since May last year. More than 200 people have lost their lives so far.