Six Houses Torched, Villagers Attacked in Manipur's Jiribam

Imphal: At least six houses were torched and residents of a tribal vill were attacked by a group of armed militants in ethnic strife-torn Manipur 's Jiribam district, police said on Friday. incident occurred on Thursday evening in Zairon Hmar vill after group of militants set houses on fire, a senior officer said.

"Preliminary reports suggested that several villrs mand to flee during attack and took shelter in nearby forest. At least six houses were severely damd due to arson. An investigation is underway," he said.

Kuki-Zo organisations claimed that a woman, a resident of vill, was killed during attack but report of death has t been confirmed by district police.

Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year and over 200 people were killed.

violence erupted on May 3 after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in hill districts to protest against Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in hill districts.