At least nine people have been shot dead in the remote north-eastern Indian state of Manipur in the latest incident in weeks of violence that has claimed more than 100 lives.
Clashes between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted on 3 May, sparked by resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.
Scores have died in the unrest, during which mobs raided police stations and stole weapons. More than 40,000 people have been displaced in the state, which borders Myanmar and is governed by the Bharatiya Janata party of the prime minister, Narendra Modi.
In the latest violence, unidentified gunmen stormed the village of Kamenlok on the outskirts of the state capital, Imphal, late on Tuesday and shot indiscriminately at houses using “sophisticated weapons”, Manipur government information officer Heisnam Balakrishna told AFP.
“Nine persons including a woman were killed during the firing,” he added. Ten others were injured in the attack and were taken to a hospital in Imphal for treatment.
Another nine people were injured in a separate attack on Monday in the same village, according to police.
Tensions in the state came to a head last month between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus and live in and around Imphal, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe in the surrounding hills.
The Kuki community had protested over Meitei demands that they also be given reserved public job quotas and college admissions.
This also stoked long-held fears among the Kuki that the Meitei might also be allowed to acquire land in areas currently reserved for them and other tribal groups.
Manipur is part of India’s remote north-east, a region linked to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor. The area is home to dozens of tribal groups and small ethnic guerrilla armies whose demands range from greater autonomy to secession from India.
A curfew remains in force and the internet has been closed down in most of Manipur, where tens of thousands of soldiers were sent to control the violence last month.
The situation in the state remains volatile despite a visit this month by India’s home minister, Amit Shah, who demanded the return of assault rifles seized from police stations when the violence began.
