Sit-ins, mass cease-work mark 3rd day of protest amid Manipur ethnic violence spike

Hundreds of protestors on Thursday staged sit-ins amid a day-long mass cease-work call following two days of street protests in Imphal valley districts against the killing of three Meitei farmers three days earlier amid a spike in ethnic violence in Manipur.

A 45-year-old Kuki man collecting bamboo shoots was killed, and at least six Kuki houses were set ablaze after the three Meiteis were killed in an ambush on Monday. The ambush was the first incident of violence between Meiteis and Kukis after July 13, when armed Kuki groups attacked Meiteis in Bishnupur’s Torbung Bangla. In the last few months, at least 50 people have died in the state, mostly in Naga-Kuki clashes.

A committee formed in connection with the killing of three Meiteis urged people to observe a day’s mass cease-work and stage sit-ins in their respective localities, offices, educational institutions, and marketplaces. Marketplaces, including Khwairamband Ima, opened around 9.30am before businesses were made to shutter.

Shutdowns paralysed much of Manipur on Tuesday and Wednesday when at least six protestors were injured as police dispersed a mob when protestors tried to storm a stadium to meet chief minister Yumnam Khemchand.

Protestors blocked the Imphal-Dimapur national highway at Khurai Lamlong junction. An altercation between security forces and protestors in Khurai Lamlong forced police to fire tear gas, mock bombs, and stun grenades to disperse the crowd and clear the highway. The protesters retaliated with slingshots and threw stones instead of clearing the highway.

The protesters have refused to take the bodies of the three slain Meiteis until all involved in the killing are held. Meitei protesters on Monday left two bodies in front of the main gate of the Chief Minister’s residence to protest the failure to protect civilians after suspected armed Kuki militants carried out the ambush.

Security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob that breached security outside the residence and parked a truck carrying two bodies.

The families of the victims claimed that the attackers belonged to the Kuki community.

The ethnic clashes in Manipur first broke out between the dominant Meitei and tribal Kuki communities in May 2023 and have left at least 360 people dead since 2023. A breakdown of law and order led to the creation of ethnic enclaves, displaced around 55,000 people, and left 49,000 missing.

On May 13, four people, including three church leaders, were killed in a twin ambush in Kangpokpi. On the same day, 48 civilians from the Kuki and Naga communities were taken hostage from both groups.

Two days later, 14 people from each community were released. But 14 Kukis and six Nagas remained in captivity. After 27 days of protest and appeals for unconditional release of the hostages, 14 Kukis were released on June 9. But on June 10, mutilated bodies of six Naga hostages were recovered, fuelling tensions.