Manipur Unrest: Schools, Colleges to Reopen in Imphal, Jiribam

Imphal: The Manipur government on Thursday announced that classes in schools and colleges in Imphal Valley districts and Jiribam would resume from November 28 after a hiatus of 13 days.

Educational institutes in these districts have remained closed since November 16 after the dead bodies of three women and three children in Jiribam were recovered from the Jiri and Barak rivers in Manipur and Assam respectively.

An order issued by the Directorate of Education- Schools said, "Normal classes will resume for all schools of the state, government, government aided, private and central schools from November 29." The government educational institutions or government-aided colleges under the Higher and Technical Education Department, including state universities, will resume classes with effect from Friday, a separate order said.

Violence escalated in Manipur after three women and three children belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.

Bodies of those six were later found.

Prohibitory orders have been in place till Thursday in the Imphal Valley districts and Jiribam, another official said.

"It is not clear as of now whether curfew will be relaxed from Friday or will continue. No fresh order has been issued so far," he said.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

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