Two killed in latest attack in India’s restive northeast

Two women have been killed in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, police said Wednesday, taking the number of civilian casualties due to ethnic strife there to 10 in the last three weeks.

Unrest has flared between far-flung Manipur’s predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and its mainly Christian Kuki minority since 2023, but the violence has spread in recent months and drawn in the Naga group.

The conflict, fuelled by competing claims over land and political influence, has claimed more than 250 lives.

The two women were killed near their home in Tamenglong district, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of the state capital Imphal.

“There is an ongoing shutdown in Tamenglong because of the killing of two women… on Tuesday afternoon,” police superintendent Lanmiyo Luikham told AFP.

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Luikham said the attack appeared to be linked to recent clashes between mainly Christian Naga and Kuki groups.

“We are carrying out the investigation and necessary formalities, and focusing on maintaining calm in the region,” he said.

The attack comes days after eight people were killed in three separate incidents across the state, which shares a porous border with war-torn Myanmar.

Efforts by the Indian government to restore normalcy have had little success.

AFP

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