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Clashes between rival ethnic groups in Manipur, a remote state in northeastern India, have reportedly killed dozens of people in recent days, and the situation remains volatile, even as authorities rush troops to the region to quell the unrest and seek control. the flow. of information.
The riots, which began on Wednesday, arose out of a dispute over who is seeking special tribal status that gives them extra privileges. The largest group in the country, slightly more than half the population, sought the designation for themselves.
On Thursday, the violence reached an unprecedented level, as people set fire to houses and vehicles, churches and temples. There was no government confirmation of the death toll reported in Indian news outlets as more than 50, although an official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to confirm the figure, said it was accurate.
In response, the Indian Army has flown nearly 10,000 troops and paramilitary forces into Manipur, a state of less than 3 million people near the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar, more than 1,000 miles from New Delhi.
On Friday, the state’s governor issued a “shoot-at-sight” order, authorizing security forces to shoot into crowds “in extreme cases.” It is unclear whether they did, and whether the 54 dead, which Indian news reports have been counted in three different hospitals, are unclear.
A military spokesman said on Friday night that it had gained “corporate control” in the most affected districts. But since authorities have also shut down the internet, imposed a curfew, and canceled trains to the region, it’s unclear if this is true.
Paojel Chaoba, executive editor of The Frontier Manipur, a local news site, described the “total breakdown of law and order” as never seen before in Manipur. “The home of the country’s top police officer has been attacked, and the body count continues to rise,” he said in a phone interview.
Thousands of Manipuri have fled, many west to neighboring Assam, a police superintendent there told an Indian news cable.
Some remain, like Lenkhohao, a 60-year-old headman in charge of a village of 80 households in Churachandpur district and a member of the Kuki ethnic group.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said in a phone interview, adding that shots could be heard throughout the day Friday, as well as the sounds of a roving crowd. In the evening, he said, a group of around 200 members of the Meitei group, accompanied by a Manipur police officer driving a jeep, attacked his village.
“We only had four or five guns, but there were more. We fired several rounds on both sides and ran for cover in the fields,” said Mr. Lenkhohao, who gave only one name. “But we fought hard, and they were forced to retreat. .”
He said at least four people were killed in a neighboring village.
Northeast India is a cluster of groups, divided by language and religion, and often at odds with the national government over internal borders and human rights issues.
The recent unrest began with a group of students holding a march to protest efforts to reclassify the Meiteis, the country’s largest ethnic group, as a “scheduled tribe.” Currently only the Nagas and Kukis of the country, who live in the rugged hill country, enjoy this designation, which among other things gives them the benefit of securing government projects.
A group representing the Meiteis had filed a petition for scheduled tribe status more than 10 years ago. Last month, the Manipur High Court issued a judgment citing the delay and giving the state government just four weeks to recommend the plan to the national government.
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